UNEMPLOYMENT EDGES UP AS STUDENTS JOIN WORK FORCE

Unemployment rates increased in all Southeast Missouri counties in May, but officials said the rise was not unusual.

"Students joining the labor market after school is dismissed traditionally pushes the rate up in May," said Jackie Cecil, manager of the local Job Service office.

Donna M. White, director of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, agreed. "Although the May unemployment rate did increase over the previous month, this is not unusual," said White. "Employment totals are still below those of a year ago."

Missouri registered a statewide unemployment rate of 6.5 percent in May. It marked the sixth straight month that the monthly rate has been below the level of a year ago.

"An estimated 2,527,800 Missourians had jobs in May," said White. "That is a notable gain from the 2,509,300 total of May 1991."

White said employment gains were recorded in heavy construction, motor vehicles and equipment, eating and drinking places, health services and social services.

Cape Girardeau County, which traditionally ranks among the top five to 10 areas in low unemployment in Missouri, recorded a 4.6 percent unemployment rate for May.

"This is up from our 3.6 figure of April," said Cecil. "But it's under the 5.1 unemployment rate of May 1991. Our latest records show that more than 34,500 people are working in Cape County out of a work force of 36,253."

That means 95.4 percent of the work force has jobs and 1,655 people do not.

"Naturally, we'd like to see every person working," said Cecil. "But a 4.5-to-5 percent unemployment rate is a realistic figure in any area."

The Job Service office is in new quarters at Cape Girardeau.

"We moved last weekend," said Cecil. "We're still in the process of settling in."

The new office is at 6 Girardeau Court, just off Independence, in a new, one-level brick structure consisting of 6,000 square feet.

Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties all fall under the Cape Girardeau employment office.

Perry County, with a work force of about 10,300 people, recorded a 5.6 percent unemployment rate in May, up 1.4 percent from April.

"Any loss of jobs in Perry County can results in a big shuffling of the numbers," said Cecil. "When you have a smaller work force, the percentage can change quickly. More than 9,900 people have jobs in Perry County."

The same holds true for Bollinger County, where the work force is about 4,500. The May unemployment rate in Bollinger was 9.4 percent, up from the 7.8 percent of April. "But you still have more than 4,000 people working there," said Cecil.

The Columbia metropolitan area, which traditionally has the lowest unemployment figure in Missouri, saw its rate increase by 1.1 percent, to 3.6 percent, dropping it to second position behind Shelby County, which registered a 3.5 percent figure in May.

Unemployment rates remained steady throughout most of Southern Illinois.

"Unemployment was up in 10 of the 16 southernmost counties of the state," said Charles M. Vessell, labor market economist for the Illinois Department of Employment Security at Harrisburg. "Employment, however, was up slightly across the region. Four counties had declines in unemployment and two had no changes."

Vessell said identifiable industry sectors, which resulted in most of the increases in unemployment, were professional services in Pulaski County, where the rate jumped from 14.8 percent to 17.3, and manufacturing in Randolph County, where the unemployment rate jumped more than 2 percent, from 11.2 to 13.5, said Vessell.

"Layoffs at Inter-City Products Co. in Red Bud pushed Randolph County's jobless rate up," said Vessell. "Things could get worse there as the rest of the 750 employees are laid off."

The firm announced recently that it was closing.

In Pulaski County, seasonal layoffs of about 100 people at the Shawnee Development Center resulted in increased unemployment.

Perry County in Southern Illinois, which watched its unemployment figure increase to 20.6 percent, had the highest unemployment in the region. Pulaski, at 17.3 percent, and Alexander, at 14.8, were among the top five with the highest unemployment rates.

Hamilton County, which had the highest unemployment rate a month ago, was second on the May list, and was one of the four counties with a drop in unemployment.

Union County also experienced a decline in unemployment, dropping from 12.6 percent to 12 percent.

Statewide, numbers were down one-tenth of a point from last month in Illinois, dropping from 7.9 to 7.8 percent.

"We have seen a gradual decrease in unemployment figures in Illinois," said Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Loleta Didrickson. "At one point in January our unemployment figure was near 10 percent."

The national unemployment rate for February was 7.2 percent, down from the 7.1 percent figure of April. Early figures show the nation's unemployment rate in June rose to 7.8 percent, the highest level in eight years, as the number of jobless people in America swelled to nearly 10 million, the Labor Department said.

The last time the national unemployment rate was 7.8 percent was in March 1984.

The number of Illinois employed fell by 82,000 people in June, to 117.57 million. The total work force grew by 389,000 people, to 127.55 million.