U.S. CREATES 20 MILLION NEW JOBS SINCE 1993

More than 20 million jobs have been added to the U.S. economy during the past seven years, giving some new meaning to the term, Roaring '20s, says Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman.If the 1920s roared, the 1990s rumbled boisterously.As the United States enters the new millennium, "we see near-record lows in unemployment in all areas and all sectors," said Herman during a national long-distance telephone news conference Friday.With Christmas holiday employment, 234,000 new jobs were added in November, passing the 20 million mark for the first time since 1993."We're closing out the 20th century with great news," said Herman. "The overall unemployment rate for the month of November remains uncharged from October, at 4.1 percent, but we see some lows of unemployment across our demographic spectrum.New Hampshire and Arizona are among the leading states in percentage of new jobs created under the Clinton administration, said Herman. New Hampshire has 51 percent more jobs than in 1993, and Arizona has 42.1 percent more jobs.Missouri falls into the middle category, with about 15 percent more jobs during the past seven years.The Missouri Department of Economic Development, which keeps tabs on the state's work force and unemployment, reveals state's work force has increased more than 225,000 since 1993. During the same span, jobs have increased by more than 310,000.Some earlier statistics this year (September), show more than 2.77 million workers have jobs in Missouri, out of a work force of 2.85 million, a 3.1 unemployment rate. The figures are more impressive in area counties where latest figures show unemployment at less than 3 percent in Cape Girardeau County and less than 2 percent in Perryville.The Cape County work force has grown by about 3,000 since 1993, and jobs are up about 4,000 in that period. In Perryville, fewer than 300 people are unemployed from its 11,273 work force. Seven years ago, the county had a work force of 9,810 with 9,242 with jobs.Nationally, the work force has increased from 14 million to 16 million, said Herman."It grows a little more than two million a year," she said.The good thing about the new jobs are that more than half of them pay the medium wage rate more than $13 an hour, said Herman.All sectors of the economy continue strong, with steady growth in most. The Labor Department reported that the 4.1 unemployment rate of November was the best showing in three decades, matched by last month's 4.1 percent, the lowest since a 3.9 percent rate established in January 1970.In October, 263,000 workers found jobs, boosting the total to almost a half-million new jobs over the past two months. Average hourly earnings, a key gauge of inflation pressures, grew by a tiny 0.1 percent to $13.41 in November, less than the 0.3 percent rise many analysts had forecast. While strong job growth is a good development for workers, economists and members of the Federal Reserve worry it could be a recipe for inflation. Their concern: That employers trying to attract scarce workers to fill job openings lure them with higher wages and benefits, increased costs that could drive up consumer prices.The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates in June, August and November to slow the red-hot economy and keep inflation under control.Many economists expect Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues to leave rates unchanged at the board's Dec. 21 meeting, citing concerns about possible problems stemming from the Y2K computer changeover, but some economists, citing strong economic growth, think the Fed could raise rates as early as February.Despite the moderate gain in payroll jobs, manufacturing, while continuing its decline, lost just 2,000 jobs in November, an improvement from earlier this year. Government analysts said the recent downward trend in factory jobs, which began in April 1998, has slowed dramatically over the past several months.The number of factory jobs has fallen by an average of 9,000 a month over the last five months, compared with average losses of 36,000 during the first half of the year.

NOVEMBER JOB FIGURES

* Services industry increased by 120,000 jobs.* Business services added 45,000 jobs.* Social services added 25,000 jobs.* Health industry rose by 14,000.* Construction added 55,000 jobs.* Retailers added 1,000 new jobs in November.* Factory jobs declined, by 21,000.* Jobless rate last month was 4.1 percent.* Jobless rate for Hispanics was 6 percent.* Jobless rate for blacks was 8.1 percent.