The closure of Rapid City's Sanmina-SCI electronics plant contributed to the state's largest industrial job loss in more than a decade, according to a national publisher of manufacturing industry news. And a separate government study shows Rapid City lost 28 percent of its manufacturing jobs in 2009.

South Dakota lost more than 2,800 industrial jobs and 74 manufacturing businesses in the year ending in October 2009, according to a recent report from Evanston, Ill.-based Manufacturers' News.

The state's electronics sector saw the biggest drop in employment, with a 21 percent loss, the publisher reported. The state's southwest region  -- which would include the SCI jobs -- saw the largest drop, down 19.9 percent over the year, Manufacturers' News reported.

Last year's figures don't reflect the full impact on the local scene. SCI closed in June, but had been shedding workers for years.

Another study reports even bigger drops in manufacturing jobs last year. A separate, broader survey of industrial sectors, administered by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed a loss of more than 5,500 industrial workers in the year ending October 2009, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor.

The biggest loss was 1,400 jobs in machinery manufacturing, the state report said. Computer and electronic product manufacturing had the biggest percentage drop, nearly a third of the work force, or 757 jobs.

In the Rapid City market specifically, the overall manufacturing industry lost 700 jobs -- 28 percent of its workforce.

Bernie Moran, state administrator for the Labor Market Information Center, said recent job losses were related to the national recession.

"The manufacturing industry is one in South Dakota that has suffered a significant job loss," she said, but other sectors show growth. Health care has grown here and throughout the country, she said.

Tom Dubin, president of Manufacturers' News, said the local economic climate could improve.

"As with the entire nation, the recession has affected South Dakota's core sectors," Dubin said. "However, the state's strong exports and favorable business climate should help lay the groundwork for recovery."

Contact Barbara Soderlin at 394-8417 or barbara.soderlin@rapidcityjournal.com.