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.)

Chart 1 is a line chart of private-sector gross job gains and losses in South Dakota from December 2020–December 2025. Data are seasonally adjusted. An accessible version is available in the View Chart Data link below the chart.

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)
Category	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)
Category	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.

Last Modified Date: Thursday, August 06, 2026

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Business Employment Dynamics in South Dakota — Fourth Quarter 2025