CAPE COUNTY UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS BELOW 5 PERCENT

Cape Girardeau County fell below the five percent unemployment rate again in February.

"This is good news," said Jackie Cecil, local office manager at the Missouri Division of Employment Security office in Cape Girardeau. "This new figure 4.3 percent is almost a full percentage point under the January figure of 5.2 percent, and is well under the 5.6 percent of a year ago."

Cecil said he is at a loss to explain why the figure jumped to 5.2 in January. The jobless rate had been under five percent since mid-summer of 1991.

"We were at 4.5 percent in December," he said. "Then, suddenly, we were over five percent in January."

Cecil said the local office placed a lot of people in February. "One major retailer added a large group of employees," he said.

Estimated total employment in Cape Girardeau County during January was 35,065. "Our work force varies from month to month," said Cecil, adding that the latest work force figure is 36,641.

The local office also includes Perry and Bollinger counties. The unemployment rate has dropped in each of these areas, noted Cecil.

The Perry County unemployment rate dropped a full percentage point from January, from 5.6 to 4.6 percent. And, in Bollinger County, the rate fell under the double-digit mark to 9.4, almost four percentage points from the 13.0 reading in January.

"We're pleased that rates have dropped," said Cecil, "but, we could see some increases in unemployment over the next month or so."

With Sabreliner at Perryville in a slack period, several employees have been temporarily laid off. An initial layoff of 20 was probably realized in the February unemployment figures, but another 40 to 50 employees were laid off recently, noted an official of the company. In Cape Girardeau County, the West Lake Quarry closings have resulted in the loss of about 50 jobs.

Any loss of jobs in Perry and Bollinger counties can result in a big shuffling of numbers. Bollinger County's work force is 4,584, while Perry County's work force is 10,215.

Missouri's unemployment rate registered six percent in February, the lowest statewide jobless rate for February in 13 years.

"There's nothing but good news in the February report," Donna M. White, director of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

"We had to search back to 1979 for a lower rate for February," she added. "Employment is at its highest level ever for the month, unemployment is below what it was a year ago, and what traditionally are the good employment months are still ahead."

Estimated total Missouri employment for February was 2,562,000, the highest monthly estimate on record. This total was up 40,900 from the previous month and 74,700 higher than the estimate for February 1991.

Manufacturing employment produced a jobs gain of 5,500 from January to February, noted White. Service-producing employment had a monthly gain of 11,100 jobs and total government employment was responsible for an additional 8,700 jobs during the month, including 5,200 at the local government level.

White reported that over-the-year employment gains were reported by motor vehicles and equipment (6,000) and health services (6,300).

Unemployment numbers were reduced slightly in Southern Illinois.

"The rates changed very little with most counties showing a slight drop," said Charles M. (Mike) Vessell, labor market economist for the Illinois Department of Employment Security at Harrisburg. "Current levels are still above 1991 rates."

Vessell said the small increases in employment activity across the Southern Illinois area centered mainly around personal services (tax preparations) and scattered small construction projects.

"There are still some layoffs in manufacturing, mining, transportation, and retail businesses," said Vessell. "Many Southern Illinois counties are low population areas and it doesn't take many layoffs to drive the jobless rates up."

Pulaski was the only nearby Southern Illinois county to show an increase for February, jumping from 15.8 to 15.9 percent. Alexander, which is usually among the top five unemployment counties in the area, improved, going from 17.9 percent jobless to 15.5, dropping from the top five to the number nine spot.

Hamilton County is still the highest unemployment county in the area, at 24.3 percent. But, even this is a two percent drop from January figures.

Union County, at 16.6 percent, was in the number five position for highest unemployment, and Pulaski was eighth on the list.

Statewide, Illinois recorded 8.9 unemployment, down from the 9.1 percent figure in January,

"We had some mass layoffs in January and February in Illinois," said Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Loleta Didrickson.

The national unemployment rate for February was 8.1 percent, up a tenth of a percent from January, and the highest since July 1985.