95.3 PERCENT WORKING: MORE THAN 33,800 PEOPLE HAVE JOBS IN CAPE COUNTY

LEE/ROWAN EXPANSION: Foundation work is under way on a new 81,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at Lee/Rowan in Jackson. The new addition is the 10th for the firm since it located in Jackson in 1964, and will give the company more than 635,000 square feet under roof. The newest expansion will be completed in March of 1993, and will result in 100 new jobs.

Lee-Rowan, a manufacturer of ventilated storage products and traditional closet accessories, will be adding 100 workers to its operation within the next year.

That's good news for Cape Girardeau County, where the largest of the firm's two manufacturing facilities is situated.

"More than 325 jobs have been added the past three years," said Constance H. Conrad, vice president of marketing services for the firm, which is headquartered in St. Louis. "We've had a good sales year and we're adding a new facility at Jackson," he said.

If it sounds familiar, it is. The figures may be a bit different, but four years out of the past five Lee-Rowan has announced expansion and more jobs.

The latest announcement came last week, when the firm announced construction was under way on a new addition: an 81,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that will result in at least 100 new jobs within the next year.

The under-roof total of the Lee-Rowan manufacturing complex at Jackson will pass the 635,000-square-foot mark in early 1993, with total employment near 800.

Lee-Rowan, headquartered at St. Louis, is one of many manufacturing firms that help keep the county's unemployment figures among the lowest in the state.

More than 33,800 people had jobs in Cape County during September.

"With the workforce at 35,547, that means 95.3 percent of the people were working," said Jackie Cecil, director of the Missouri Job Service office at Cape Girardeau. "That means an unemployment total of 4.7 percent, which is up a tenth of a percent from August. But it's still a good figure."

Cape Girardeau and Perry counties were the only two counties to show a slight increase in the jobless rate in the immediate Southeast Missouri area, according to figures of the Missouri Division of Employment Security.

Perry County also experienced a one-tenth of a percent increase in unemployment, from 4.8 in August to 4.9 in September. Bollinger County remained even, at 8.2 percent, and all other area counties had declines in unemployment.

Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties all fall under the Cape Girardeau employment office.

Missouri's unemployment rate dipped under 6 percent in September. The 5.9 percent rate was the lowest monthly rate for the state since April.

"This represents a drop of four-tenths of a percent," said Donna M. White, director of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. "It's another positive sign for the state's economy, and marks the third consecutive month that the unemployment rate has gone down in Missouri." said White.

Approximately 158,000 Missourians are estimated to have been unemployed in September, 6,000 fewer than that in September 1991, and almost 10,000 fewer than the estimated unemployment total in August.

"A total of 2,501,100 people were employed in the state in September," said White. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 20,700 jobs, primarily on the strength of the seasonal increase in school and college employment.

Manufacturing employment was up by 1,900 jobs, as the automobile industry returned from a temporary August layoff, said White.

Compared to a year ago, employment gains were noted in several areas:

All employment, up 83,700.

Amusement and recreation services, up 1,000.

Construction, up 1,200.

Health services, up 3,600.

Management services, up 900.

Manufacturing, up 1,400.

Nodaway County in northwest Missouri was the lowest unemployment county in the state, at 2.6 percent. The county has hovered under the 3 percent mark in recent months. A year ago in September, it was at 2.7 percent, and in August it was 2.9.

The Columbia metropolitan area was second on the list of unemployment totals, at 3.3 percent. Rounding out the top five low unemployment areas in Missouri were Sullivan (3.6), and Putnam, Adair-Schuyler labor market areas, and Shelby County, all at 3.7 percent.

Unemployment numbers were down in most Southern Illinois counties, including notable decreases in Alexander and Pulaski counties, traditionally two of the higher unemployment counties in the area.

Alexander dropped from 14.3 percent unemployment in August to 11.4 in September, while Pulaski County dropped from 14.7 to 12.

"The employment sector showed anticipated improvement throughout the area," said Charles M. "Mike" Vessell, labor market analyst at the Illinois Department of Employment Security in the Harrisburg office. "A few manufacturing plants recalled workers, full fall harvesting started and several students who were in the job force went back to school."

Vessell said the small size of most counties in the Southern Illinois region "routinely produce large percentage changes from month to month."

Perry County in Illinois was among the state's highest unemployment area at 16.9 percent, down almost two points from the 18.8 of August and down drastically from the 22.6 percent in June.

Meanwhile, Williamson County had one of the largest one-month drops, from 12.4 percent in August to an even 8 percent in September.

Vessell said he anticipates unemployment figures to continue to drop.

"There are no indications of any major layoffs in the mining or manufacturing sectors," he said. "And soon, retailers will start their Christmas hirings of extra help."

Vessell also cited a couple of business announcements that could help employment in the area within the next year.

"Wal-Mart has announced plans to open a 202,469-square-foot Supercenter at Carbondale that could add up to 240 new jobs," he said. "And things are looking good for the new Energy Park in Franklin County."

Statewide, Illinois recorded 6.1 percent unemployment, down from the 6.5 percent of the previous month.

Unemployment in the U.S. was reported at 7.2 percent, down a tenth of 1 percent from the previous month but up six-tenths from September of a year ago.