South Dakota workforce recruitment campaign tops 3,500 applicants

July 26, 2023

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Noem’s “Freedom Works Here” national workforce recruitment campaign has surpassed 3,500 applicants. 675 are in the final stages of the process of moving to South Dakota.

“South Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in United States history at 1.8%. Even with these record-breaking levels, we have open jobs to spare,” said Governor Noem. “The folks applying to move here through ‘Freedom Works Here’ will be filling these jobs and joining our winning workforce. Our momentum is showing no signs of slowing down!”

“Freedom Works Here” is already the most successful workforce recruitment campaign in South Dakota history:

Thousands of calls have already been made to these applicants to help them take the first steps towards moving to our great state;

Applicants who have progressed through the process to move to South Dakota received a “Freedom Works Here” South Dakota license plate;

Governor Noem also sent personalized emails to applicants that hadn’t yet connected with the Department of Labor. This email broke down next steps and provided them with options to begin their move to South Dakota;

Mailers have been sent to individuals across the country that have been identified as particularly likely to make the move to South Dakota; and
Digital advertisements are being targeted to that likely population, as well.

“These results are fantastic – and they only represent the folks working directly with us through the ‘Freedom Works Here’ program,” said Governor Noem. “We have even more Freedom-loving Americans finding jobs and moving to South Dakota of their own accord after seeing our ads.”

Over 310 million people have seen the “Freedom Works Here” ads. The most applications have come from California (603), Texas, (260), Florida (245), Minnesota (208), and New York (148). 108 South Dakotans have also used the campaign as a tool to get plugged in to career opportunities.