South Dakota's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate experienced a slight increase from January to February.
According to the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, 200 more people in the state were unemployed in February bringing the total to 19,500 unemployed. Those losses brought the unemployment rate up to 4.4 percent from 4.3 percent in January 2013.
South Dakota's February 2013 labor force of 447,200 increased compared to the February 2012 level of 446,200. Year to year, the level of employed increased by 1,000 (0.2 percent); the level of unemployed decreased by 200 persons.
The state's unemployment rate is still well below the national rate of 7.7 percent in February. The nation's unemployment decreased from January to February when there were 300,000 fewer people unemployed.
Applications for unemployment aid barely changed last week and the average over the past month fell to a fresh five-year low.
A decline in layoffs is helping strengthen the job market.
The US Labor Department says weekly unemployment benefit applications rose just 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell 7,500 to 339,750. That's the lowest since February 2008, just three months into the recession.
A steady decline in unemployment claims signals companies are laying off fewer workers. That suggests they aren't worried that business will fall off in the near future.
The average has fallen nearly 15 percent since November. Fewer layoffs typically suggest that net hiring will pick up.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
