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Posts tagged as “labor”

South Dakota Hog Farmer “Almost Going to Have to” Hire Illegal Immigrants

Agricultural industry groups complain that President Barack Obama's immigration action won't help them find the workers they need to bring home the bacon. In a brilliant display of rationalization, Hurley hog farmer Steve Schmiechel says the President's inaction and the…

Minnesota Raises Minimum Wage, Jobs Keep Growing

My readers at South Dakota Magazine may not think minimum wage workers deserve any consideration, but fortunately, they are in the minority. Thanks to the good sense of 55% of South Dakota voters, minimum wage workers will get a raise…

Minimum-Wage Increase on Governor’s Chopping Block?

Sioux Falls restaurateur and known liberal Steve Hildebrand got to serve Governor Dennis Daugaard on Friday. As a tip, the Governor left a signal that if the Legislature wants to kill the minimum-wage increase we voters passed Tuesday, that would…

Pay Teachers to Solve Shortage? Yikes! Legislators Change the Subject

I can hear the conversation in Pierre: We're short on teachers, and folks going to expect better pay... quick! Blow smoke! South Dakota’s superintendents say schools are struggling to fill open positions mainly because of low teacher pay, while policymakers…

State Labor Supply Seems to Under-Count Available Indian Workers

I continue to try to nail down how well South Dakota includes the American Indian population in its unemployment data. Following my weekend calculation that ignoring unemployment on the reservation causes us to underreport statewide unemployment by ten percentage points,…

Real South Dakota Unemployment Rate, Including Indians: Over 14%?

In his proposal to include American Indians in our workforce initiatives, Rep. Steve Hickey says, "South Dakota celebrates a low unemployment rate only because tribal unemployment statistics are excluded. The real unemployment rate in South Dakota which include tribal unemployment…