In July, Governor Kristi Noem claimed that breaking the record for America’s lowest unemployment rate in June proved that “South Dakotans are the hardest working folks I know.” One month later, that proof goes poof:
Preliminary estimates showed South Dakota’s unemployment rate rose by one-tenth of a percent to 1.9% overall for July.
New Hampshire ranked lowest among states at 1.7%, followed by Maryland and Vermont at 1.8%, according to seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [Bob Mercer, “Capitol Notebook: State’s Jobless Rate Rose in July,” KELO-TV, 2023.08.29].
Gee, the folks Kristi knows must have slacked off.
But hey: we’re still fourth in the nation for low unemployment… also known as a chronic workforce shortage.
Dusty Johnson’s monthly update said that he we working on extending the hours teens can work. His pitch was how a job teaches tees so much; my first thought was that it is a way to loosen a tight labor market and allow employers to suppress wages.
The more I read about universal basic income, the more I do not like the current coercive nature of forcing people into bad employment or they starve or become homeless.
In Natives were in the equation, South Dakota would have one of the highest number of unemployed in the US.
Small Johnson again shows an ability of being unable to see over his shoes. In his latest town hall, Johnson carped for immigration reform – code for reducing immigration, at a time when the US is short 400,000 workers annually. The worker shortage will continue until spiking in 2034 at more than 900,000 annually. Read the demographic pyramid. Immigration is the only way to increase 20-40 year olds from 2023 to 2035.
Tiny Johnson then railed about China, something he knows little about. China is in the midst of a decade of demographic collapse – larger than the Black Death. Read the demographic pyramid. Johnson said China has a navy larger than the US’s. But fails admitting that the Chinese navy is not a blue water navy. China depends on the US policing of the sea lines between it’s oil suppliers in the Gulf to China. A couple destroyers from the US or India or Australia, or Indonesia, or Japan could cut off China’s oil – resulting within 2 years, of a Chinese famine that would kill 100s of millions. Johnson pretends that China’s technology is more advanced than that of the US. But China only produces the lowest tier quality of microchips. China is a basket case in the process of imploding. Could China lash out? Certainly. But it would quickly be contained. China is only a strawman bogey man for the willfully under informed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOVWAcFf48s
China seems to buy a lot of South Dakota stuff. “Overall, South Dakota exports about $6.7 billion worth of goods and services to foreign countries each year, about $5 billion of which is from agricultural products.
China is the top export destination for goods produced in the state and as the third-largest importer of services originating in the state, according to the U.S.-China Business Council.
In 2022, about 28% of goods produced in South Dakota were sold to China, and 5% of global services exports headed there that year, the council reported. South Dakota saw a 14% increase in goods sold to China from 2020 to 2022, the council said.” https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/on-china-trade-south-dakota-farmers-face-an-uneasy-balance
I agree with John. It never ceases to amaze me how damn dumb dirty Johnson and the rest of the trumpers are regarding economics for this state.
No benefit in finding negativity over a good unemployment rate. Yay, South Dakota.
They should also take the incarcerated population into account for our unemployed percentage. We sure love to lock em up.