Counties with the highest unemployment in South Dakota

Written by:
Stacker
August 30, 2024
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Counties with the highest unemployment in South Dakota

Unemployment rates are rising across U.S. metropolitan areas, provoking alarm across the nation and likely leading to interest rate cuts in September.

As of July, unemployment rates increased in 350 out of 389 U.S. metros areas—including 47 of the 51 largest metros, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in South Dakota, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in July 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

The national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.3%. Still, it's up substantially from 3.5% during the same month last year and has climbed to the highest rate since November 2021. By comparison, unemployment rates surged to 10% in October 2009 during the Great Recession, and a full recovery took years. At the height of the brief COVID-19 recession in April 2020, unemployment hit 14.7%.

The Federal Reserve has shifted its focus from curbing inflation to unemployment, indicating plans to cut interest rates in the coming weeks and months to alleviate economic strain and avoid further job losses.

Since last year, unemployment has spiked in over half of states—a signal often indicating a looming recession, as Piper Sandler Chief Global Economist Nancy Lazar told Business Insider. These jobless rates, paired with layoffs among major U.S. employers like Google and Tesla, have sparked concern among Americans. Minus a major economic blow, economists continue to forecast that the U.S. is tracking toward an incremental slowdown in growth known as a "soft landing."

To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in South Dakota.

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Bennekom // Shutterstock

#50. Bon Homme County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,911 people (46 unemployed)

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Danita Delimont // Shutterstock

#49. Hutchinson County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,759 people (62 unemployed)

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Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock

#48. Turner County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,918 people (80 unemployed)

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#47. Butte County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 5,424 people (86 unemployed)

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#46. Yankton County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,227 people (191 unemployed)

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#45. Codington County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,723 people (267 unemployed)

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Michael J Magee // Shutterstock

#44. Sully County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 841 people (14 unemployed)

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#43. Aurora County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,502 people (26 unemployed)

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#42. Lawrence County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,223 people (257 unemployed)

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#41. Meade County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 15,211 people (263 unemployed)

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#40. Brown County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,090 people (339 unemployed)

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#39. Minnehaha County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 121,756 people (2,080 unemployed)

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#38. Deuel County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,447 people (44 unemployed)

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#37. Day County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,843 people (52 unemployed)

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#36. Pennington County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 62,917 people (1,131 unemployed)

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#35. Jerauld County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,170 people (22 unemployed)

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#34. Grant County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,520 people (88 unemployed)

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#33. Lake County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,839 people (130 unemployed)

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#32. Brookings County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,214 people (359 unemployed)

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#31. Haakon County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,083 people (22 unemployed)

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#30. Douglas County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,532 people (30 unemployed)

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#29. Brule County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,577 people (52 unemployed)

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#28. Clay County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,798 people (134 unemployed)

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#27. Jones County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 585 people (12 unemployed)

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#26. Sanborn County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,222 people (26 unemployed)

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Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock

#25. Spink County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,157 people (66 unemployed)

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Sabrina Janelle Gordon // Shutterstock

#24. Union County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,922 people (187 unemployed)

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#23. Hanson County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,822 people (40 unemployed)

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#22. Fall River County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,144 people (68 unemployed)

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#21. Custer County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,386 people (98 unemployed)

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#20. McPherson County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 982 people (24 unemployed)

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#19. Miner County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,335 people (32 unemployed)

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#18. Charles Mix County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,057 people (100 unemployed)

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#17. Lyman County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,751 people (46 unemployed)

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#16. Marshall County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,533 people (66 unemployed)

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#15. Jackson County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,334 people (36 unemployed)

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#14. Campbell County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 777 people (22 unemployed)

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#13. Walworth County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,089 people (60 unemployed)

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Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock

#12. Moody County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 4,190 people (120 unemployed)

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#11. Hyde County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.0%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 659 people (20 unemployed)

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Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock

#10. Potter County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,130 people (34 unemployed)

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#9. Roberts County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,803 people (165 unemployed)

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vagabond54 // Shutterstock

#8. Bennett County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 2.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,112 people (50 unemployed)

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#7. Todd County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,217 people (154 unemployed)

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Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock

#6. Corson County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,302 people (64 unemployed)

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#5. Mellette County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 2.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 792 people (44 unemployed)

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#4. Buffalo County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 772 people (48 unemployed)

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#3. Ziebach County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 967 people (64 unemployed)

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#2. Oglala Lakota County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,621 people (343 unemployed)

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#1. Dewey County

- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 12.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 4.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,418 people (289 unemployed)

This story features data reporting and writing by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.

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