Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · SD NONMETROPOLITAN AREA · October 2026
Every advertised-pay, job-posting and industry figure in this briefing comes from WageScape's own database of active job postings. The sources below back the external facts cited in the written analysis.
Sources cited in this report
Key Indicators
South Dakota unemployment rate 2.0% vs national 4.1%
Bureau of Labor Statistics — State and national unemployment comparison, August 2026
This Month's Takeaways
Construction added 800 jobs statewide, 2.4% monthly gain
South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation — State sector employment data, August 2026
All 65 nonmetro counties have wage levels below national average
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages — County-level wage data, Q3 2025
Local Economic Conditions
SD labor force participation fell to 66.5%, down 1.7 points year over year
South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation — State labor force participation data, August 2026
Average weekly wage $1,070, down 0.9% year over year
USA Facts / BLS QCEW — South Dakota average weekly wage data, June 2026
Looking Ahead
2027 minimum wage rate to be published by October 15, 2026
South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation — Minimum wage CPI-adjustment schedule
How the numbers are calculated
- Advertised pay is the median of the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro. It is not survey or payroll data.
- Percent changes compare the latest six full months with the six months before that, for the same metro and sector.
- Sectors group postings by the employer's industry (NAICS) classification into ten sectors. Where a metro has too few postings in a sector, the state figure is used instead.
- Role pay trends use the same comparison windows. "Stable" means a change of less than 3%; "moderate" 3–10%; "significant" more than 10%.
Official data for comparison