Business memo 06/19/06

Plaza Tire Service opens location in Manchester

Plaza Tire Service, based in Cape Girardeau, has opened a new store in Manchester, the retailer's 43rd location and the seventh in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The new store occupies 6,200 square feet, consists of nine service bays and employs about 10 people. Vernon "Pee Wee" Rhodes opened Plaza Tire Service as a hand-operated car wash in 1963 in Cape Girardeau. It was later expanded into tire sales and service.

Favorable job market predicted for area

Southeast Missouri area employers expect to hire at a steady pace during the third quarter of 2006, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

From July to September, 20 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 3 percent expect to reduce their payrolls, according to Manpower spokeswoman Debbie Glenn. Another 77 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels.

Southeast Missouri area employers have weaker hiring intentions than in the second quarter when 33 percent of the companies interviewed intended to add staff and 7 percent planned to reduce head count, Glenn said. Employers are also less positive about hiring than they were a year ago, when 30 percent of companies surveyed thought employment increases were likely and 3 percent intended to cut back.

-- From staff reports