Business Notebook: Missouri jobless rate drops 2.2% as economy reopens; state to hold 'virtual' job fairs

Missouri's unemployment rate returned to single digits in June, according to the latest jobs report released last week by the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

Although in the midst of an economic recovery following the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state's economy added 71,600 jobs in June, and job losses in the last month, though still substantial, were less than the job losses in April and May.

As a result, Missouri's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate decreased more than two percentage points from 10.1% in May to 7.9% last month.

The estimated number of unemployed Missourians was 237,649 in June, down by almost 66,000 from the 303,647 unemployed Missouri workers in May.

According to the state's seasonally-adjusted employment report, an estimated 2,689,200 Missourians had nonfarm jobs last month.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics has posted a national unemployment rate of 11.1% for June.

Newly-released data from the state labor department indicates fewer people filed for unemployment benefits during the week ending July 11 -- 16,781 -- than the previous week, when 17,527 first-time claims were filed.

The number of first-time unemployment filings July 5 to 11 was about 84% lower than Missouri's all-time high of 104,230 filings the week of March 22 to 28 but was still about 75% higher than the average number of weekly filings in January and February of this year.

State to conduct 'virtual' job fairs

The Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development will host a pair of Return Strong Virtual Job Fairs designed to connect Missouri employers with job seekers.

The first of the two online hiring events will take place from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Wednesday, while the second is scheduled for 2 until 5 p.m. two weeks later, Aug. 5.

More than 130 employers have signed up to participate in the online job fairs in which job seekers can brows job listings by industry, view participating employers and join an employer's "chat room" to hear more about the employer and the employer's job openings.

There will also be presentations about resume writing and interview tips during the web events.

For more information or to register, go to www.jobs.mo.gov/seeker-virtual-job-fair-registration.

Job centers reopening throughout Missouri

Several Missouri job centers, which have been closed since state government offices closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have started to reopen. The offices in Columbia and Rolla opened their doors July 8, while the centers in Sikeston, Washington and West Plains opened last week.

Other centers that were already open include the offices in Poplar Bluff, Kennett, St. Charles, Springfield, Park Hills and St. Louis County.

The rest of the Missouri Job Centers, including the one at 760 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, are expected to reopen in the near future as part of the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development's Return Strong initiative.

Although the centers are reopening for in-person services, social distancing and other health guidelines will be implemented for the safety of staff and visitors.

Displaced workers may be eligible to receive free training vouchers worth up to $4,000 worth of retraining or skill enhancement. More information is available at www.jobs.mo.gov.

Tobacco Lane relocates

A well-known Cape Girardeau tobacco shop has moved to a new location that offers cigar and pipe enthusiasts an enhanced shopping experience.

Tobacco Lane is now at 623 S. Silver Springs Road, Suite 600, after more than 20 years at 244 S. Silver Springs Road. The move into the new space in the Shawnee Center took place about two weeks ago. Lease arrangements at the new location were handled by Tom Kelsey and Chris Cole of Lorimont Commercial Real Estate.

Founded in 1982 by Robert Basler, Tobacco Lane was in West Park Mall 18 years before moving to Silver Springs Road. Matt Pruitt purchased the business from Basler in August 2017.

Tobacco Lane specializes in premium hand-rolled cigars and pipe tobacco and also sells humidors, lighters, cigar cutters and other smoking accessories.

The new location features a walk-in humidor and a smoking lounge that is separated from the sales area.

People on the Move

Derek Palisch

Pharmacist Derek Palisch has accepted the role of director of operations at John's Pharmacy, headquartered at 2001 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau.

In his new role, Palisch will oversee the pharmacists and operations at John's Pharmacy's six locations throughout Southeast and Southwest Missouri.

Before joining John's Pharmacy two years ago, he managed the pharmacy at the Walgreen's store in Perryville, Missouri, and also spent six years as a staff pharmacist in Sikeston, Missouri.

He is a native of Altenburg, Missouri, and received his pharmacy degree from St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 2009.

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Amanda Baert

Amanda Baert has joined U.S. Bank as a wealth management banker. She will be based at the U.S. Bank branch at 325 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau and will cover the Southeast Missouri region.

In her new position, Baert partners with investment, insurance and financial planning personnel from the bank's affiliate, U.S. Bancorp Investments.

Baert has a degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University and brings 11 years of financial services experience to her new role.

She is a member of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce and volunteers with Big Brothers/Big Sisters as an ABC Today Corporate Partner. She is an ambassador for the SoutheastHEALTH Foundation and serves on the board of St. Ambrose Parish School in Chaffee, Missouri.

Chamber notes

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce will host its monthly Business After Hours social gathering from 5 until 6 p.m. Tuesday. The event will take place on the Zoom online meeting platform.

A link to the event may be found in the events listing of the chamber's website, www.capechamber.com.

Commercial building permits

A building permit has been issued for a remodeling project at Schnucks, 19 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Kiefner Brothers Inc. is the general contractor for the project, which has a listed construction cost of $700,000.

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A building permit for an addition and renovation of the state office building at 3445 Armstrong Drive in Cape Girardeau was issued last week to DSW Development. The estimated construction cost of the project is listed at $449,000.

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A construction permit for the interior renovation of a restaurant space, formerly occupied by Beef 'O' Brady's, 1812 Carondalet Drive in Cape Girardeau, was issued last week to architect Phillip B. Smith. The location is the future home of Sedona Bistro. Renovation cost is estimated at $35,000.

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