MITCHELL, S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) On Thursday, April 18, 2024, there will be a Workforce Summit on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University. Among the featured speakers will be South Dakota Secretary of Labor Marcia Hultman. The Summit will concentrate on the dual questions of workforce recruitment and employee retention.
Currently, there are approximately 600 open jobs in Mitchell. The City of Mitchell has a 1.7% unemployment rate. Only Pierre has fewer jobless people than Mitchell. (Pierre’s unemployment rate is 1.5%). Several major employers in Mitchell have indicated they could fill hundreds of jobs, if only there were employees available to take them.
Housing is one of the impediments to recruiting employees. It doesn’t do a person much good to have a job if there is nowhere to live. Housing has been one of the focuses of the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce and municipal government.