GETTING HIRED

The Missouri work force increased in June, but so did the number of jobs. Even so, the state posted its lowest June unemployment rate in two decades.

With students and seasonal employees in search of summer work, both employment and unemployment numbers edged upwards in June. The number of employed Missourians increased by more than 28,000, reaching 2,840,200. With an estimated 113,800 unemployed, that translates into 3.9 percent.

In Illinois unemployment rose a seasonally adjusted 4.6 percent in June, with the state's labor force reaching an all-time record of 6.35 million.

Construction, finance, real estate and service jobs all showed gains in Illinois, according to statistics released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

Nationwide, the unemployment rate is near a 29-year low, at 4.5 percent. It was 4.2 percent in May.

June unemployment figures were a bit higher than the previous month, because of the influx of students into the labor market. Employers everywhere have scrambled to find workers.

In Cape Girardeau County, more than 35,500 people are employed, accounting for 96.4 percent of the county's 36,881-member work force. Perry County lists only 499 unemployed workers, translating into 96 percent employment.

Yet advertisements for jobs of all kinds -- management, mechanics, clerical, sales, teachers, housekeepers, drivers, construction and other laborers -- are abundant among the classified section of the Southeast Missourian.

Missouri employment statistics are provided by the Missouri Department of Economic Development through the newly created Division of Workforce Development.

The former job service has a new name and a new location in Cape Girardeau. The Cape Girardeau office is at 760 S. Kingshighway.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Division of Employment Security was combined with the DED's Division of Job Development and Training to create the Division of Workforce Development.

Cathy Chasteen, work force development supervisor, heads the area Division of Workforce Development with its offices in Sikeston and Cape Girardeau.

The new setup is a one-stop career center, said Chasteen. The idea of the new service is to get job services and training programs in one place. Training agencies are in the same building as the service center.

Employment services for Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perryville counties are available at the Cape Girardeau office and for Mississippi, New Madrid, Scott and Stoddard counties are handled at the Sikeston office.

"This is an opportunity to streamline employment and training, bringing everything under one agency," said Larry Hightower, an assistant director. "We feel it will help create more higher paying jobs, increase the number of communities above the poverty level and decrease welfare."

Continued optimism about the job market drew more people into the labor force in Illinois, said IDES director Linda Renee Baker.

"The surge in job seekers contributed to the rise in the unemployment rate," she said.

Manufacturing employment was down some in Illinois, and mining continues to decline, but the economy in Southern Illinois appears to be sound, said Charles M. Vessell, labor market economist at Marion.

Unemployment was up in most Southern Illinois counties in the latest statistical sheet, but with the low population counties, a few lost jobs can change the unemployment rate in a hurry.

Massac County is traditionally one of the highest employment counties in the area. June figures revealed that more than 7,300 people were employed, for a 94.6 employment rate, leaving about 500 unemployed.

Alexander and Pulaski counties showed unemployment rates in the double figures but had fewer unemployed people than Massac County. Pulaski County reported 359 unemployed people or 11.8 percent unemployment. Alexander County reported 426 unemployed people for a 10.3 unemployment rate.

Union County reported an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent of its 7,867 work force.