Labor
 One
important resource that a new or expanding business desires
is a readily available supply of workers. Whether
an employer wants five or 150 workers, they need to know that
there will be a sufficient number of workers available. The
eagerness
of Rapid City's labor force to work is evident in the number
of applicants for openings when new businesses develop or locate
in Rapid City. The figures below have been provided by South
Dakota Career Center who handled the applications for all of
the businesses
listed. Some of these businesses, namely Workrite and Spiegel,
used no advertising for applicants. The prospect of the type
of
employment these businesses would provide was all that was needed
to spur the highly motivated Rapid City labor force to seek
employment
in their organizations.
DATE |
APPS
RECEIVED
|
|
|
|
| January 05 |
847 |
150 |
4.20% |
Retail |
| Sept. 03 - Oct. 03 |
2000 |
110 |
3.4% |
Retail |
| Aug. 02 - Nov. 02 |
1585 |
167 |
2.3% |
Retail |
| June 02 |
460 |
125 |
2.6% |
Restaurant |
| Sept. 01 - Dec. 01 |
600 |
15-20 |
2.5% |
Construction |
| Sept. 00 - Spring 01 |
2500 |
30-50 |
1.5% |
Manufacturing |
| May 00 - Aug.
00 |
160 |
15-20 |
2.1% |
Manuafacturing |
| July 00 - Aug.
00 |
Referred 320 |
Expansion |
|
Call Center |
| July 99 - June 00 |
Referred 760 |
Expansion |
|
Call Center |
| Feb 00 |
500 |
40 |
2.7% |
Retail |
| Nov. 99 |
125 |
2 FT & 4 PT |
2.3% |
Financial |
| Sept. 98 |
106 |
14 |
1.7% |
Call Center |
| Oct. 98 |
686 |
73 |
1.8% |
Call Center |
| Feb.
98 |
1000+ |
|
3.0% |
Retail |
Labor Analysis - March 2006
Source: Labor Bulletin
| Total
Work Force |
63,815 |
| Employed |
61,375 |
| Unemployed |
2,440 |
| Unemployment
Rate |
3.8% |
| Manufacturing
Workers in Union |
less
than 1% |
| Right-to-work
Law |
Yes |
| Work
stoppages in last 10 years |
None |
Labor Force & Availability
- Average age of available work force is 41, compares to a national
average of 47.
- Available area labor force is projected to be 81,805
- Workers are willing to consider a wide range of fields. The
top four types of businesses the labor force indicates it would
be work for are retail, financial services center, or software
development.
- Black Hills workers are well-educated. 96% have at least high
school educations, 20% hold Bachelors degrees, and nearly 7%
have advanced degrees.
- Over half the available labor force respondents in the Rapid
City labor market are indicated they would commute an average
of twenty miles one way for employment. nearly 20% would commute
40 miles.
Source: Rapid City MSA Labor Market Report 06/02.
The graph below represents the maximum distance residents
are willing to commute.
Source: Rapid City MSA Labor Market Report 01/06
Annual Pay of Covered Workers by Industry
Rapid City South Dakota Community Labor Profile
June 2004
| |
|
Natural Resources & Mining |
$36,036 |
Construction |
$30,027 |
Manufacturing |
$33,296 |
Trade, Transportation, Utilities |
$26,180 |
Information |
$32,526 |
Financial Activities |
$30,878 |
Professional & Business Services |
$28,675 |
Education & Health Services |
$33,259 |
Leisure & Hospitality |
$12,346 |
Other Services |
$19,945 |
Government |
$33,349 |
This table includes the following Areas: Custer County,Lawrence
County,Meade County,Pennington County
Labor Force History
| |
|
Employed |
Unemployed |
1980 |
36,890 |
34,841 |
2,049 |
1990 |
40,348 |
38,907 |
1,441 |
2000 |
48,250 |
47,295 |
955 |
2001 |
48,045 |
46,935 |
1,105 |
2002 |
49,601 |
48,140 |
1,470 |
2003 |
49,695 |
48,080 |
1,615 |
2004
|
50,275
|
49,535
|
1,740
|
2005
|
63,510
|
60,850
|
2,660
|
Labor Force/Employment/Unemployment
March 2006
|
| County |
Labor
Force |
Employed |
Unemployed |
Rate |
| Custer |
4,195 |
4,015 |
180 |
4.3% |
| Lawrence |
12,970 |
12,530 |
440 |
3.4% |
| Meade |
12,640 |
12,145 |
495 |
3.9% |
| Pennington |
51,175 |
49,230 |
1,945 |
3.8% |
|
