Employment in the U.S. is projected to grow by 17.7 million during the next decade to a level of about 144 million.

The growth rate translates into about 13.4 percent.

But employment in Cape Girardeau could increase that much over the next quarter. Cape Girardeau Mayor Albert M. Spradling III recently told a gathering that "Cape Girardeau is on the grow." That means new construction, new businesses and new jobs, Spradling said.

During the final quarter of the year, more than 600 jobs will be added to the labor market in Cape Girardeau County. The bulk of them will be in Cape Girardeau.

"It's phenomenal," said Spradling, pointing out that the city had a great growth year in 1995, and is continuing through 1996 and into early 1997.

Latest statistics from Missouri Job Service show employment in Cape Girardeau County at 95.8 percent.

"That means 33,243 workers have jobs," aid Jackie Cecil of the Missouri Job Service office in Cape Girardeau.

The county's workforce was at 34,712 in August.

The local Job Service office keeps tabs on three area counties: Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry.

The workforce in the three counties totals 49,927. With 47,711 jobs, the employment rate in the three counties is near the 95 percent mark.

That could increase, with the addition of between 500 and 600 new jobs, not counting the annual influx of part-time Christmas holiday employees.

One of the newest companies providing new jobs is Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield, which will add 200 jobs to the labor market. About 85 percent, or 170 of them, will be new-hires from the local area at salaries ranging from $15,000 to $17,000 with full benefits.

The new 42,000-square-foot-center in Cape West Business Park is expected to open Dec. 15. In the interim, the company will operate a training center for employees in a temporary center in the West Park office building on South Silver Springs Road.

Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield is one of several new businesses that will open the final quarter of the year.

K's Merchandise opened last week and will hold its grand opening in mid-October. The retail store at the intersection of Broadview and Bloomfield Road will have 100 full-time employees along with another 75 to 100 part-time workers through the holiday season.

Four more retailers will open in Cape West Business Park in October, accounting for another 100 or so workers, mostly new-hires.

Shoe Carnival, a business that provides family footwear, is planning its Cape Girardeau grand opening for the weekend of Oct. 18-20. The new store will occupy 12,000 square feet in a strip mall along Siemers Drive and will employ from 35 to 40 peole.

Along the same retail strip will be Staples Office Supply, Factory Card and the Dollar Tree.

Staples Inc., which has almost 500 office-supply and equipment stores in 25 states, will enter the Cape Girardeau market in mid-October. Staples will occupy 25,000 square feet and will employ about 35 people.

Factory Card Outlet, which will have 10,800 square feet of space, will open Oct. 24, and will employ about 20 to 25. Dollar Tree, which will have 4,100 square feet, will also open in October.

D&K Wholesale Drugs Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, is looking to a December opening in its new facility on Rust Avenue. It relocated its Cairo, Ill., distribution center. D&K will bring more than 100 workers into the Cape Girardeau area. Most will transfer from the Cairo office. But the larger 60,000-square-foot center will result in about 40 new-hires in the near future.

The influx of new jobs will continue into 1977.

It is official that Sam's Warehouse will build in Cape Girardeau. The company obtained a city permit last week for a $3 million, 114,000-square-foot building to be located between Wal-Mart and Lowe's Home Center in Cape West Business Park. Construction of the building is already under way. Sam's is expected to employ more than 100 people.

Another major project in Cape West Business Park will be Wehrenberg's 14-Cine Theater, expected during the first quarter of 1997.