EMPLOYMENT RATE REMAINS COMFORTABLE

No matter which way the labor force pendulum swings in Cape Girardeau County, the rate of employment remains at a comfortable and enviable 95 percent-plus.

The work force here fluctuates from month to month, depending on the time of year, from low of about 35,000 to more than 36,000.

Based on the latest work force numbers, the rate of employment is 96 percent, according to Jack Cecil director of the Missouri Job Service office at Cape Girardeau. "March figures show 33,786 jobs, which places our unemployment rate at four percent," said Cecil.

The total available labor force in the county consists of 35,205 people, including 1,419 jobless workers.

Even with higher work force numbers, the jobless ranks are usually around the 1,400 mark, noted Cecil.

Cape Girardeau County's unemployment rate of 4 percent is one of the lowest in Southeast Missouri, matching the 4 percent of Perry County, where 9,635 workers have jobs, from a work force of 9,635, leaving only 101 without jobs.

Perry and Bollinger counties fall are served by the Cape Girardeau Job Service office. Bollinger, which counts 5,028 workers in its labor force, posted a 6.5 unemployment rate in March, with only 326 workers without jobs.

The employment rate in the immediate area has been steady,

"We've been fortunate in this area," said Cecil. Business and industry are diversified and although some businesses have left the area, new businesses have opened.

Cape Girardeau County has logged unemployment rates from 3 to 3.5 percent over the past few months, and Perry County has been under the 4 percent mark on occasion.

Missouri is in a growth mode on employment levels and wages.

The state finished the year with gains in employment levels, demand for labor and average weekly income.

Wages for manufacturing workers are up 4.3 percent, well above the national average increase of 1.2 percent.

These statistics were revealed this month in a first quarter report issued by the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED).

Missouri outperformed the nation as a whole in all major indicators, indicating a solid economy with stable growth, according to DED director Joseph L. Driskill.

The state's employment grew 1.6 percent, adding more than 39,000 jobs. The first quarter employment report revealed that more than 12,000 new jobs were added in Missouri in February of this year when the statewide unemployment percentage was four percent.

Four percent unemployment figures have continued in many areas for March, including the St. Louis area, which reported a 4.1 percent unemployment rate.

Unemployment in the Kansas City metropolitan area is about three percent, and some businesses are launching a program designed to attract more skilled employees to the area.

Under the program, businesses pay a fee to have their jobs included in classified ad packages placed in the newspapers of communities surrounding the metropolitan area and in cities with a large pool of unemployed workers -- including the Chicago area.

The nation's unemployment rate dipped to a 14-month low of 5.4 percent in April, giving fresh evidence of an improving economy. Although April totals have not been announced for Missouri, employment increases are expected, especially in construction, amusement and recreation services, and agriculture-related jobs.

The unemployment rate in Illinois also improved in March. Statewide, the rate dropped four percentage points, from 5.8 to 5.4 percent. Unemployment was also down in most Southern Illinois counties.

"Scattered manufacturing companies record some small but temporary layoffs," Charles M. "Mike" Vessell, labor market economist for the Illinois Department of Employment Security at Marion. "But, these were virtually offset by small employment increases in other businesses, especially in the service and construction sector."

Unemployment should drop even further over the next month, added Vessell. "Construction and farming is getting into full swing." However, layoffs in the troubled coal mining industry continue to effect labor conditions in some Southern Illinois counties.

Massac County, home of Players Riverboat Casino at Metropolis, recorded the lowest unemployment rate in the immediate Illinois area at 4.8 percent. The riverboat employs more than 800 workers, many of them from Massac County. The state's southernmost county, Alexander, dropped from 8.9 to 7.9 percent in March, and Pulaski County has been under the double-digit mark the past two months, with rates of 9.9 in February and 9.7 in March.

Union County, however, remains in double digits at 10.7 percent, a drop from the 11.7 reading of February.

Area unemployment statistics

Following are unemployment rates for March of 1996, compared to rates of February, 1996.

Southeast Missouri

Bollinger County: 6.5 percent; 6.6 percent.

Cape Girardeau County: 4 percent, 3.5 percent.

New Madrid County: 6.6 percent, 6.6 percent.

Perry County, 4 percent, 3.9 percent.

Scott County, 5.8 percent, 5.4 percent.

Stoddard County, 8.7 percent, 9.1 percent.

Mississippi County, 7.3 percent; 7.6 percent.

Southern Illinois

Alexander County: 7.9 percent, 8.9 percent.

Jackson County: 5.3 percent, 5.4 percent.

Johnson County, 10.9 percent, 11.7 percent.

Massac County: 4.8 percent, 5.1 percent.

Pulaski County, 9.7 percent, 9.9 percent.

Union County, 10.7 percent, 11.7 percent.

Williamson County: 8.9 percent, 9.3 percent.