BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

08/06/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/06/2026 09:05

Business Employment Dynamics in South Dakota — Fourth Quarter 2025

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26-1286-CHI
Thursday, August 06, 2026

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Business Employment Dynamics in South Dakota - Fourth Quarter 2025

From September 2025 to December 2025, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in South Dakota were 22,937, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 21,717, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 1,220 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 513. (See chart 1.)

View Chart Data
Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in South Dakota, December 2020-December 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period Gross job gains Gross job losses

Dec 2020

25,130 21,255

Mar 2021

26,662 21,068

Jun 2021

24,276 20,603

Sep 2021

23,705 22,846

Dec 2021

25,991 21,513

Mar 2022

28,117 22,336

Jun 2022

24,537 24,132

Sep 2022

26,630 23,570

Dec 2022

23,833 23,890

Mar 2023

27,227 21,829

Jun 2023

25,505 22,881

Sep 2023

23,698 23,950

Dec 2023

24,965 22,327

Mar 2024

24,303 22,392

Jun 2024

22,982 23,722

Sep 2024

22,346 22,236

Dec 2024

25,432 22,697

Mar 2025

23,881 25,012

Jun 2025

23,041 23,436

Sep 2025

22,549 23,062

Dec 2025

22,937 21,717

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the fourth quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 6.0 percent of private-sector employment in South Dakota; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.9 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In South Dakota, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 18,876 in the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 530 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 4,061 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2025, a decrease of 142 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data
Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and South Dakota, December 2020-December 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period South Dakota United States

Dec 2020

7.2 7.4

Mar 2021

7.5 7.0

Jun 2021

6.8 6.8

Sep 2021

6.6 7.3

Dec 2021

7.2 7.7

Mar 2022

7.7 6.7

Jun 2022

6.7 6.5

Sep 2022

7.3 6.9

Dec 2022

6.4 6.3

Mar 2023

7.3 6.3

Jun 2023

6.8 6.2

Sep 2023

6.3 5.9

Dec 2023

6.5 6.0

Mar 2024

6.4 5.9

Jun 2024

6.0 5.8

Sep 2024

5.9 5.8

Dec 2024

6.7 5.9

Mar 2025

6.2 5.6

Jun 2025

6.0 5.7

Sep 2025

5.9 5.6

Dec 2025

6.0 5.9

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.6 percent of private-sector employment in South Dakota; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.5 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In South Dakota, contracting establishments lost 18,512 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025, a decrease of 935 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 3,205 jobs, a decrease of 410 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data
Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and South Dakota, December 2020-December 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period United States South Dakota

Dec 2020

5.7 6.1

Mar 2021

5.5 5.9

Jun 2021

5.9 5.8

Sep 2021

6.0 6.4

Dec 2021

5.4 5.9

Mar 2022

5.5 6.1

Jun 2022

6.2 6.5

Sep 2022

5.9 6.4

Dec 2022

5.9 6.5

Mar 2023

5.5 5.9

Jun 2023

5.9 6.0

Sep 2023

5.9 6.3

Dec 2023

5.7 5.9

Mar 2024

5.5 5.8

Jun 2024

5.9 6.2

Sep 2024

5.8 5.9

Dec 2024

5.7 5.9

Mar 2025

5.4 6.5

Jun 2025

6.0 6.1

Sep 2025

5.7 6.0

Dec 2025

5.5 5.6

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 4 of the 7 published industry sectors in South Dakota in the fourth quarter of 2025. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 216 jobs. This was the result of 5,321 gross job gains and 5,105 gross job losses. Retail trade showed a net loss of 407 jobs, the largest loss of any sector in the state.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at the Business Employment Dynamics homepage and the Business Employment Dynamics Summary.

The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2026 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. (CT).

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

The release of First Quarter 2026 Business Employment Dynamics data, scheduled for October 28, 2026, will incorporate annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. The revisions will include the previous four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.


Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, South Dakota, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains and losses
(3 months ended) 		Gross job gains and losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Dec.
2024 		Mar.
2025 		June
2025 		Sept.
2025 		Dec.
2025 		Dec.
2024 		Mar.
2025 		June
2025 		Sept.
2025 		Dec.
2025

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

25,432 23,881 23,041 22,549 22,937 6.7 6.2 6.0 5.9 6.0

At expanding establishments

20,173 19,670 19,059 18,346 18,876 5.3 5.1 5.0 4.8 4.9

At opening establishments

5,259 4,211 3,982 4,203 4,061 1.4 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses

22,697 25,012 23,436 23,062 21,717 5.9 6.5 6.1 6.0 5.6

At contracting establishments

18,881 20,825 19,923 19,447 18,512 4.9 5.4 5.2 5.1 4.8

At closing establishments

3,816 4,187 3,513 3,615 3,205 1.0 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.8

Net employment change (2)

2,735 -1,131 -395 -513 1,220 0.8 -0.3 -0.1 -0.1 0.4

Construction

Gross job gains

3,466 3,742 2,777 2,905 2,955 11.7 12.1 9.2 10.1 10.0

At expanding establishments

2,806 3,104 2,331 2,323 2,414 9.5 10.0 7.7 8.1 8.2

At opening establishments

660 638 446 582 541 2.2 2.1 1.5 2.0 1.8

Gross job losses

2,791 3,008 3,888 2,927 2,837 9.5 9.7 12.9 10.2 9.6

At contracting establishments

2,287 2,442 3,207 2,329 2,286 7.8 7.9 10.6 8.1 7.7

At closing establishments

504 566 681 598 551 1.7 1.8 2.3 2.1 1.9

Net employment change (2)

675 734 -1,111 -22 118 2.2 2.4 -3.7 -0.1 0.4

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

889 1,074 1,010 818 1,015 4.0 4.8 4.6 3.7 4.6

At expanding establishments

741 818 859 693 825 3.3 3.7 3.9 3.1 3.7

At opening establishments

148 256 151 125 190 0.7 1.1 0.7 0.6 0.9

Gross job losses

934 1,092 892 1,027 953 4.1 4.9 4.0 4.7 4.3

At contracting establishments

746 859 731 859 846 3.3 3.9 3.3 3.9 3.8

At closing establishments

188 233 161 168 107 0.8 1.0 0.7 0.8 0.5

Net employment change (2)

-45 -18 118 -209 62 -0.1 -0.1 0.6 -1.0 0.3

Retail trade

Gross job gains

2,704 2,870 2,708 2,924 2,530 5.0 5.3 5.0 5.4 4.7

At expanding establishments

2,419 2,530 2,398 2,494 2,211 4.5 4.7 4.4 4.6 4.1

At opening establishments

285 340 310 430 319 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.6

Gross job losses

3,069 2,808 2,633 2,702 2,937 5.7 5.2 4.9 5.1 5.4

At contracting establishments

2,796 2,482 2,411 2,512 2,609 5.2 4.6 4.5 4.7 4.8

At closing establishments

273 326 222 190 328 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.6

Net employment change (2)

-365 62 75 222 -407 -0.7 0.1 0.1 0.3 -0.7

Financial activities

Gross job gains

923 1,207 1,157 1,011 1,049 3.4 4.5 4.3 3.7 3.9

At expanding establishments

671 939 890 766 769 2.5 3.5 3.3 2.8 2.9

At opening establishments

252 268 267 245 280 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.0

Gross job losses

1,241 1,092 994 1,141 1,014 4.6 4.0 3.7 4.2 3.8

At contracting establishments

1,004 867 816 926 784 3.7 3.2 3.0 3.4 2.9

At closing establishments

237 225 178 215 230 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.9

Net employment change (2)

-318 115 163 -130 35 -1.2 0.5 0.6 -0.5 0.1

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

2,844 2,774 2,862 2,976 2,862 7.6 7.4 7.7 8.0 7.7

At expanding establishments

2,088 2,167 2,208 2,202 2,056 5.6 5.8 5.9 5.9 5.5

At opening establishments

756 607 654 774 806 2.0 1.6 1.8 2.1 2.2

Gross job losses

3,254 2,714 2,834 2,913 3,022 8.7 7.3 7.6 7.7 8.1

At contracting establishments

2,426 2,002 2,205 2,189 2,500 6.5 5.4 5.9 5.8 6.7

At closing establishments

828 712 629 724 522 2.2 1.9 1.7 1.9 1.4

Net employment change (2)

-410 60 28 63 -160 -1.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 -0.4

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

6,624 5,011 5,193 5,403 5,321 13.1 9.8 10.3 10.8 10.5

At expanding establishments

4,808 3,746 4,078 4,189 4,305 9.5 7.3 8.1 8.4 8.5

At opening establishments

1,816 1,265 1,115 1,214 1,016 3.6 2.5 2.2 2.4 2.0

Gross job losses

4,845 6,370 5,599 5,580 5,105 9.6 12.4 11.1 11.1 10.1

At contracting establishments

4,057 5,287 4,838 4,621 4,302 8.0 10.3 9.6 9.2 8.5

At closing establishments

788 1,083 761 959 803 1.6 2.1 1.5 1.9 1.6

Net employment change (2)

1,779 -1,359 -406 -177 216 3.5 -2.6 -0.8 -0.3 0.4

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

910 1,054 1,021 914 815 7.0 8.0 7.6 6.9 6.1

At expanding establishments

728 858 829 692 677 5.6 6.5 6.2 5.2 5.1

At opening establishments

182 196 192 222 138 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.7 1.0

Gross job losses

877 872 820 984 846 6.7 6.6 6.2 7.4 6.4

At contracting establishments

721 727 671 861 744 5.5 5.5 5.1 6.5 5.6

At closing establishments

156 145 149 123 102 1.2 1.1 1.1 0.9 0.8

Net employment change (2)

33 182 201 -70 -31 0.3 1.4 1.4 -0.5 -0.3

Footnotes:
(1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately.
(2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
(3) Except public administration.

Table 2. Private-sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains as a percent of employment
(3 months ended) 		Gross job losses as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Dec.
2024 		Mar.
2025 		June
2025 		Sept.
2025 		Dec.
2025 		Dec.
2024 		Mar.
2025 		June
2025 		Sept.
2025 		Dec.
2025

United States(1)

5.9 5.6 5.7 5.6 5.9 5.7 5.4 6.0 5.7 5.5

Alabama

5.8 5.3 5.5 5.4 6.1 5.3 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.4

Alaska

10.3 10.0 9.9 7.5 11.8 9.5 8.1 10.3 10.0 9.3

Arizona

6.1 5.8 5.3 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.3 6.3 5.5 5.4

Arkansas

5.8 5.1 5.1 5.3 6.0 4.8 5.1 5.5 5.3 5.0

California

6.7 6.0 6.6 6.2 6.8 6.4 6.2 6.7 6.0 6.1

Colorado

6.2 6.2 6.4 6.5 6.2 6.5 6.8 7.1 6.5 6.4

Connecticut

5.5 5.6 5.8 5.3 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.8 5.9 5.5

Delaware

6.1 5.9 5.9 5.3 5.5 6.3 5.3 6.1 6.1 5.5

District of Columbia

5.0 4.8 5.7 4.6 5.2 5.5 5.8 5.9 5.9 5.0

Florida

6.0 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.9 6.2 5.5 5.8 6.0 5.7

Georgia

6.0 5.5 5.5 5.7 5.9 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.5

Hawaii

5.3 4.9 4.8 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.2 4.8 4.7

Idaho

8.2 7.3 7.7 6.7 8.1 6.8 7.3 7.2 7.6 6.3

Illinois

5.1 5.0 5.2 4.7 5.3 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.0 5.3

Indiana

5.5 5.4 5.0 5.1 5.5 5.1 5.2 5.6 5.1 5.1

Iowa

5.6 5.8 5.6 4.8 6.3 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.9 5.4

Kansas

5.9 5.5 5.4 5.8 5.7 5.2 5.4 6.3 5.8 5.3

Kentucky

5.3 5.2 5.0 5.3 5.2 5.5 4.8 5.4 5.6 5.0

Louisiana

6.2 5.6 5.5 5.9 6.0 5.5 5.6 6.3 6.0 5.9

Maine

7.0 7.4 7.2 6.2 6.8 7.1 6.3 7.4 7.0 7.0

Maryland

6.0 5.9 5.7 5.7 6.0 5.9 5.7 6.2 6.5 5.6

Massachusetts

5.3 5.0 5.5 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.1 5.8 5.9 5.6

Michigan

5.4 5.2 5.8 4.9 5.6 5.9 5.3 5.5 5.9 5.3

Minnesota

5.5 5.1 5.8 5.3 5.6 5.1 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.5

Mississippi

6.3 5.7 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.2 6.1 6.5 6.1 5.8

Missouri

5.7 5.4 5.5 5.6 6.1 5.3 5.2 6.1 5.9 5.5

Montana

8.4 8.0 7.7 7.0 8.4 7.8 7.5 8.3 7.9 7.4

Nebraska

5.6 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.7 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.8 5.2

Nevada

6.1 5.4 6.2 6.9 6.2 5.6 5.9 6.3 5.2 5.4

New Hampshire

6.3 6.5 6.3 5.6 6.2 5.9 6.1 6.7 6.8 5.7

New Jersey

6.0 5.6 5.8 5.3 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.8 5.3

New Mexico

6.1 5.9 5.9 5.8 6.1 5.9 5.8 6.0 6.2 6.0

New York

5.7 6.6 5.9 5.9 5.6 5.5 5.0 7.0 5.8 5.6

North Carolina

6.1 5.4 5.6 5.4 6.0 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.7 5.1

North Dakota

6.5 6.7 6.4 6.2 6.9 6.6 6.5 6.7 6.6 6.4

Ohio

5.4 5.2 5.3 5.1 5.3 5.1 4.9 5.4 5.3 5.0

Oklahoma

6.0 5.5 5.5 6.0 6.2 5.5 5.3 6.2 6.4 5.1

Oregon

6.2 5.8 6.4 5.7 6.0 6.6 6.2 6.5 6.7 6.0

Pennsylvania

5.2 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.1 4.8 4.7 5.2 5.2 4.7

Rhode Island

7.3 6.6 6.3 6.0 6.6 6.3 5.9 6.7 6.7 6.2

South Carolina

6.4 6.1 5.8 6.3 6.7 5.9 5.5 6.6 6.5 5.5

South Dakota

6.7 6.2 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.9 6.5 6.1 6.0 5.6

Tennessee

5.5 5.4 5.1 5.7 6.2 6.2 5.1 5.9 5.2 5.2

Texas

5.8 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.6 5.2 5.1 5.4 5.3 4.9

Utah

6.8 6.6 6.6 6.7 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.6 6.4 6.1

Vermont

6.7 6.9 6.9 6.6 6.9 6.7 6.8 7.5 7.8 7.0

Virginia

5.8 5.6 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.5 5.1 5.8 6.1 5.1

Washington

5.8 5.7 6.0 5.2 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.6 5.3

West Virginia

6.5 6.4 5.5 5.8 5.9 6.1 5.7 6.3 6.0 6.0

Wisconsin

5.3 5.0 5.3 4.9 5.6 5.2 4.9 5.5 5.6 5.1

Wyoming

8.9 8.1 8.3 7.7 9.0 8.3 8.7 8.9 8.4 8.0

Puerto Rico

4.3 6.3 7.0 5.4 4.4 5.4 5.4 6.1 5.7 5.2

Virgin Islands

5.2 5.4 15.0 7.1 9.1 10.8 7.6 9.5 8.4 7.2

Footnotes
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on August 06, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on August 06, 2026 at 15:06 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]