STATISTICAL INFORMATION BOTH BLESSING AND CURSE IN TECHNOLOGICAL AGE

In Cape Girardeau County, a statistical household would include 2.49 people who live in a home they either own or are in the process of buying.

The income per person is $11,858 and 9.8 percent of families live below the poverty level. The unemployment rate is under 5 percent.

About 24 percent of people are under 18 years of age and 14 percent are 65 or older. Almost three-fourths of the residents are high school graduates and nearly 20 percent are college graduates.

The median priced home is $56,900. Total retail sales for the county topped $870,000.

The list of statistics available goes on and on. In fact, huge data bases of information on income, employment and buying power are available over computer networks. The question facing businesses and planners is what to make of all those figures.

"The information age is a blessing and a curse," said Tom Tucker, executive director of the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission. "We have to get on the Internet this year, but who has time to do it."

Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association, agreed that statistics can be helpful in making decisions and luring companies. But numbers need to be considered in moderation.

"The majority of folks we talk to are not interested in the huge detailed information base that is out there," Robinson said.

Companies most often want statistics concerning buying power, potential customer base and employee pool.

"We look at population numbers, age groups and employment rate," Robinson said. "Will we have enough workers to do the job?"

Tucker said his office is most interested in information about income. "That's a barometer of the economic health of our counties," he said. "We look at the data to get some idea of the rates of pay people are getting. Are we creating high-paying jobs or low-paying jobs."

Statistics show that income in Southeast Missouri, like the rest of the nation, has risen dramatically over the past 25 years.

In Cape Girardeau County, for example, income per person was $1,887. In 1990, the number had grown $11,858.

The median family income in 1960 was $4,516. In 1990, that number had jumped to $30,795. From 1980 to 1990, the median family income increased 67.9 percent. It was $18,343 in 1980.

"What that tells us is that we're seeing more spendable income," Tucker said. "People in 1960 were just eking by. A lot of Southeast Missouri towns were tied to a shoe factory or mining. In many families, parents both worked, but they were still barely getting by. Thankfully, our median family income is up dramatically since then."

But the question facing planners like Tucker is whether the trend will continue or, better yet, how to cause the trend to continue.

"I'm more than a little concerned that it won't," Tucker said. "The fact is we're in global competition. We have industrial prospects and local towns compete with each other to attract the plant. But the truth is we're competing globally. If we can't adjust to that, our whole country is in trouble."

Already, things like NAFTA, environmental regulations and workers compensation are impacting business decisions. Manufacturing companies are looking at other countries where labor is cheap and regulations lax.

Service industry jobs, which typically spring up as manufacturing jobs leave, don't usually pay as much.

"What we really need is people who really want to do business in this country," Tucker said. Another option is to recognize the global economy and work with it.

Southeast Missouri firms are moving in this direction. In 1994, 50 regional firms were exporting to foreign countries. In 1988, only 20 businesses were doing business with other countries.

"I see this as a real opportunity," Tucker said.