May Unemployment Mixed in Lake County Area

The South Dakota Department of Labor has posted the local unemployment figures for May. After a healthy drop from March to April, Lake County's jobless rate jumped back up a tick to 4.8%. The actual numbers aren't earth-shaking: 15 folks left the local workforce, but 20 jobs disappeared. But when Dwaine Chapel needs to make 835 jobs appear by the end of next year to meet the Forward Madison labor goal, we can't afford any slippage.

The job numbers are mixed for the surrounding counties. Brookings County jumped back up to 3.9%, with 90 more people out of work in May (the college kids leave, but so does a lot of business). McCook and Miner counties saw increases, too. Kingsbury, Minnehaha, and Moody counties all managed to create a few jobs. but what we're all waiting for, a good strong surge for everybody, was nowhere to be seen in May.