It is a pleasure to be here today, especially to join all of you who are here to participate in the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce’s annual Economic Outlook Seminar.
Over the past three months, employment rose by an average of 408,000 jobs per month, down from the average pace seen earlier in the year but still robust. Improvements in labor market conditions have been widespread, including for workers at the lower end of the wage distribution as well as for African Americans and Hispanics.