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South Dakota jobs and job market: layoffs, colleges and workforce help

South Dakota’s unemployment rate is 2.0%. 488 open professional jobs are listed here. Employers filed 4 layoff notices in the last 12 months. Choose a county or city for the same picture closer to home.

Independent page. Not from or affiliated with the State of South Dakota.

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South Dakota economy

  • 2.0%

    unemployment, Sep 2026

    2.1% the month before

  • 484,677

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 899,194

    people in South Dakota

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $72,421

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 40%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

South Dakota outlook: Building

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

  • Private-sector jobs up 4.1% from 2022 to 2025
  • Population up 5.3% from 2020 to 2025
  • Unemployment 1.7%, down 0.1 points from a year ago
  • Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+4,476 jobs), construction (+3,577 jobs)
  • Sectors losing the most jobs: finance & insurance (−1,246 jobs), admin & staffing (−609 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in South Dakota. Each link goes to the publisher.

Learn and get funded in South Dakota

South Dakota layoffs

  • 4

    Layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 87

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 4

    employers

Layoff notices filed in South Dakota, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
JeniusBank—2—State record
ConduentConduent1—State record
Republic National Distributing CompanyRepublic National Distributing Company53—State record
Christ The King SchoolSioux Falls31—State record

All layoff notices in the state

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Employers hiring most in South Dakota

Employers with the most open professional roles on our job board right now.

  1. State of South Dakota39 open roles
  2. Sioux Center Health21 open roles
  3. Marshfield Clinic13 open roles
  4. Valley Queen Cheese Factory11 open roles
  5. Trinzic10 open roles
  6. Veterans Health Administration10 open roles
  7. gpac8 open roles
  8. Sanford7 open roles
  9. Sterling Infrastructure7 open roles
  10. CHS6 open roles
  11. CVS Health6 open roles
  12. Indian Health Service6 open roles

Higher education in South Dakota

  • 15

    public and private non-profit colleges

    Source: IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education

  • about 67,000

    students enrolled

    Estimated from size bands

Largest colleges in South Dakota

Largest colleges in South Dakota
CollegeCityTypeStudents
South Dakota State UniversityBrookingsPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
University of South DakotaVermillionPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Augustana UniversitySioux FallsPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Black Hills State UniversitySpearfishPublic 4-year1,000–4,999
Dakota State UniversityMadisonPublic 4-year1,000–4,999
Kairos UniversitySioux FallsPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Mount Marty UniversityYanktonPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Northern State UniversityAberdeenPublic 4-year1,000–4,999
Oglala Lakota CollegeKylePublic 4-year1,000–4,999
South Dakota School of Mines and TechnologyRapid CityPublic 4-year1,000–4,999
University of Sioux FallsSioux FallsPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Dakota Wesleyan UniversityMitchellPrivate non-profit 4-yearUnder 1,000

All 15 South Dakota colleges

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving South Dakota. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in South Dakota? How to file for unemployment in South Dakota (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

10 American Job Centers in South Dakota

Conferences in South Dakota

Industry conferences and trade shows held in South Dakota, the ones worth a trip for hiring managers and job seekers. 2 with dates announced.

All conferences

South Dakota counties

Each county page has its own unemployment, layoffs, job openings, employers, colleges and job centers.

Show all 66

South Dakota cities

Cities with open jobs, layoff notices, a job center or a college.

Show all 19

Laid off or looking for work in South Dakota?

See what to do first, what South Dakota unemployment benefits pay, and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS for population, income and unemployment; layoff notices from South Dakota’s published record; job counts from our live job board, taken from employers’ own career sites; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. South Dakota unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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