HOLIDAY HIRING WOES

"Pre-Christmas help wanted! Second income, earn $1,000 or more for Christmas."

"We have openings for cashier-checkers, sales clerks."

"Part-time Positions available, $6 an hour!"

"Selling Specialists. Full and part-time positions available."

"Now Hiring for the Holidays."

Classified ads in the Southeast Missourian "Help Wanted" section, and signs and banners in a number of retail stores tell the story.

There are not enough workers to go around during the Christmas holiday hiring period this year, say Cape County employment service officials.

Statistics explain it all.

More than 34,500 workers are employed in Cape Girardeau County. That figure could swell to 35,800 within the next few days as retailers look to the official start of the Christmas holiday shopping season Friday.

That could mean an additional 1,300 workers as retailers throughout the county brace for the influx of shoppers.

Retailers increase their staffs an average of 3.8 percent during the Christmas season.

Many retailers have already boosted their staff size. And although the day after Thanksgiving is usually the biggest shopping day of the Christmas season, retailers are already reporting good sales.

The workforce in Cape Girardeau County stands at 35,761 with 34,568 working, for a 3.3 percent unemployment rate. That leaves 1,193 without jobs, 230 short of the average 3.8 percent needed for the holidays.

Nationally, the unemployment rate in October was at 4.7 percent, lowest in almost a quarter-century.

To add to the woes of the retailer, fewer Americans are looking to earn extra cash during the holidays.

The competition for service workers is incredible, say some of the retailers.

"During past years, we could hang a sign in the window," said one retailer. "We're getting fewer responses this year."

All this can translate into longer lines at the cash registers and fewer salespeople.

"We're doing OK," said Natalie Mansell, senior merchandise manager at JCPenney at West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau. "But we don't have as many extra people this year as in the past."

JCPenney's relies on "word of mouth," signs throughout the store and classified advertising for holiday workers.

"We've been running advertising the past couple of weeks, seeking people to come in and apply," said Mansell. "We do have a few holiday employees who return year after year."

Kmart of Cape Girardeau has used banners across the front of the store and pamphlets to attract extra workers. Local Kmart officials say their holiday crew is intact.

"But the competition is fierce this year," said the local spokesman for the Kmart operations department. "A lot of people are having troubles finding extra help."

Nationally, Kmart advertised Christmas job openings on pamphlets stuffed into credit card bills. It also posts job opportunities on its Internet home page.

"We haven't had any problems," said Rodney Hall, a manager at Target in West Park Business Park. "The market is tight, but we advertised and have filled most of our positions."

In addition to signs and advertising, some stores are asking their own employees to refer them to friends and relatives. One company, Lands' End, a national, Dodgeville, Wis., mail-order company, depends heavily on its staff to find many of its 2,000 seasonal employees. This year, the company gave away Green Bay Packer football tickets to employees who recommended friends and family.

There's some good news for workers this year. Wages are up, due to increases in the minimum wage over the past year. Minimum wage went from $4.25 to $4.75 in 1996, and to $5.15 in October.

In addition to holiday workers, about a fourth of the employers in the Southeast Missouri area are looking to increase their employment during the first quarter of 1998, according to an employment survey.

Job prospects appear good in the first months of the new year in wholesale/retail, transportation/public utilities and services.

Unemployment rates decreased throughout Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois this fall. The latest figures reveal that statewide, unemployment is 3.3 percent. In Illinois, the rate is 4.2 percent, down from August's 4.4 percent.

Missouri's Perry County is at 2.9 percent, with 9,754 of its 10,041-member workforce with jobs, leaving only 287 without work. Bollinger County recorded a 4.5 unemployment rate, with 4,793 of the 5,020-member workforce with jobs, leaving 227 idle.

Alexander and Pulaski counties in Southern Illinois, usually in double figures in unemployment rates, each have recorded single-digit rates the past couple of months, Alexander is at 8.9 and Pulaski, at 7.2.

One of the lowest employment rates in Southern Illinois was Massac County, at 3.6 percent.

Only one county reported a double-digit unemployment rate in Southern Illinois -- Franklin County at 11.3 percent.