Employment

Metro Area Unemployment Rate Jumps to 5.1 Percent in February

The jobless rate in the Rapid City metropolitan area rose to  5.1 percent in February, continuing a five-month pattern of increases. The total number of unemployed (3,400) rose sharply while the size of the civilian labor force increased to 66,600. Over the last twelve months the leading growth sectors for employment continue to be Professional and Business Services (up 6.4 percent) and Education and Health (up 4.0 percent). Manufacturing is also growing (4.0 percent). Government employment shows no growth over the year. For more details and an overview of the economy in the Rapid City Metropolitan Statistical Area (Pennington and Meade counties), visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Updated April 25, 2012.)

Unemployment Mild in Black Hills Counties Compared to Nation

Employment in the Black Hills suffered mildly during the national recession, but experiences varied among the region’s counties between 2010 and 2011. Butte and Fall River, for example, witnessed a rise in total employment and a decline in unemployment rates.

Lawrence County added eight new jobs over the year, but saw its unemployment rate rise from 4.8 to 5.0 percent. Total jobs in Meade and Pennington Counties also declined, but without a significant change in the unemployment rate. Meanwhile, in Custer and Shannon counties, declines in total employment fed increases in the unemployment rate.

Throughout the region, county level unemployment rates ranged from a low of 4.8 percent in Butte County to a high of 12.6 percent in Shannon County in January, 2011.