ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A PART-TIME JOB

"You hear some sad stories, you hear some heartwarming stories. But, they're all worthwhile when you see the look in youngsters' eyes as they come running to you with their arms spread out."

That's the observation of Roger Reed, who filled in for Santa Claus recently.

Reed, owner of a Cape Girardeau accounting and tax consulting firm, professes to be a Christmas person. "I enjoy the lights, the decorations, and everything to do with the holiday season," said Reed, whose company arranges to have a Santa Claus available at West Park Mall during all opening hours.

"That's one of the reasons I took a turn as Santa," said Reed. "We usually have about 15 Santa's helpers, but this year we came up one short early on and I decided to fill in."

Reed and his Santa's helpers are among a special troupe that joins the employment rolls each year about this time.

"There are people out there who want to work about a month to six weeks a year," said Jackie Cecil of the Missouri Job Service office in Cape Girardeau. "We don't keep a list of holiday workers, but each year our part-time work forces increases in November."

But not enough sometimes.

"Especially when unemployment is under 4 percent," said Harry Rediger, manager of JCPenney at West Park Mall. "We had a difficult time filling our holiday positions this year."

Ditto, a number of businesses.

Help-wanted signs are at a premium this holiday season. A number of them have been observed in fast-food restaurants and retail establishments the past month.

Most newspapers have had more help-wanted advertising columns in their classified than normal, with businesses seeking all types of workers -- waitresses or waiters, bartenders, sales associates, truck drivers, cooks, part-time secretaries, cashiers and many others.

JCPenney typically adds 40 to 50 people during the busy holiday season.

"We hire sales associates, catalog assistants, and some maintenance workers," said Rediger. "These are people who want to work about six to eight weeks."

Although most do work only through the holidays, an occasional worker stays on.

"Some of our best people who have been with us for years started as Christmas extras," said Rediger. "Most, however, only want the holiday work."

"Finding holiday help can be a problem these days," agreed Reed. "We make arrangements for Santas during the Christmas season at the mall. Santas are hard to find anyway; it gets a little warm in a Santa suit."

The Santas take shifts at center court at the mall, sharing a 12-to-15-hour day. A Santa will be present during mall hours until 6 p.m. Dec. 24.

"But most of the Santa work is fun," Reed said. "The children seem so happy."

Some holiday workers "moonlight" during the holiday season. One moonlighter works five days a week at her business, which is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"I just enjoy being around people," she said, when asked about her part-time holiday job that occupies her time three nights a week from 6 to 10.

"I enjoy it during the holidays," she said. "I wouldn't want it during the entire year."

"I do it for something to do during the holidays," says another Christmas worker who rings up sales for a Cape Girardeau retail outlet four evenings a week. "I don't work the rest of the year and don't want to. The the extra money is nice, too."

Most of the holiday workers receive minimum wage or a little more for their efforts.

Two of the city's larger department stores -- Kmart and Wal-Mart -- utilize holiday workers. "We hire about 25 workers for the holidays," said Jerry Zikmund, manager at Kmart. "We run between 25 and 30," said Terry Godwin, manager of Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Zikmund and Godwin agreed that help for the 1993 season has been a problem.

"With this area's low unemployment we have problems finding people for some of our permanent positions," said Godwin.

Both said that in past years some Christmas helpers remained on the payroll past the usual holiday employment period.

Cape Girardeau County is traditionally one of the low unemployment areas in Missouri.

"We're usually around the 4-percent mark," said Cecil. "For the past couple of months we have been under 4 percent, and we're looking forward to some new employment possibilities into the new year."

Cecil was referring to Lowe's Home Centers, which will employ about 125 when it opens in March, and Red Lobster Restaurant, which will employ about 100 workers when its opens next spring. Also in the 1994 future are Sam's, a discount warehouse, at least two restaurants that will employ up to 25 each, and a Walgreen's store.

Unemployment continued its downward trend statewide in October, dropping to 5.3 percent, one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month.

"Unemployment has been on the decline since June," said Paul L. Rodgers, director of the Missouri Division of Employment Security. "We dropped from 147,100 unemployed in September to 145,400 in October."

Rodgers said 2,377,700 workers were employed in Missouri in October.

Missouri unemployment is running ahead of last year's totals, however. Total unemployment in October 1992 was 137,800, for a rate of 5.2 percent.

Construction employment grew in October. Records show that there were 5,300 more construction jobs in the state during October of this year than in October of 1992. The bulk of new jobs, however, came in the service producing section, where an increase of 8,300 jobs was reported from September to October.

In metropolitan areas, rates ranged from a high of 7.7 percent in the St. Joseph area to a low of 2.9 percent in the Columbia area. In between, St. Louis reported 5.6 percent unemployment; Kansas City, 4.8; and Springfield, 4.1.

In outstate areas, the numbers ranged from a low of 3 percent in Nodaway and Barton counties to a high of 14 percent in Washington County.

Unemployment dropped in seven Southeast Missouri counties, headed by Cape Girardeau's 3.9 percent. Perry County dropped to 4.6 percent and Scott County dropped to 7 percent. The highest unemployment rate in Southeast Missouri was 7.5 percent, reported in both Mississippi and Stoddard counties.

Unemployment figures dropped slightly in Southern Illinois, as much as a full percent in some areas, including Alexander County, which dropped from 17 percent to 15.5. Pulaski County dropped almost 2 percent, from 17.5 to 15.6. Massac County dropped another full point, from 9.2 to 8.1 percent.

The fall harvest and construction continued to provide the majority of activity across the area, said Charles M. "Mike" Vessell, labor market economist for the Illinois Department of Employment Security at Harrisburg.

"Hopefully the numbers of unemployment will remain low the rest of the year," said Vessell. "Hiring increases associated with the Christmas season should have an impact on our economy."