We have experienced much success in the local technology sector and we continue to look for more ways to strengthen that ecosystem. Southeast Missouri State University is experiencing a strong increase in declared majors in Computer Science and it is not difficult to understand why. The University’s Cyber Defense Team extended its streak as reigning Missouri state champions after winning the 2019 Missouri Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition for the seventh straight year. Then members of the

There are approximately 75 million of them in the civilian labor force and that number is growing at a steady clip. It is important for everyone to understand, in this tight labor market, statistics released by the United States Department of Labor show 47 percent of the U. S. work force are women. They own close to 10 million businesses accounting for more than $1.4 trillion dollars in receipts. Seventy percent of mothers with children under 18 participate in the labor force with 75% of them

These numbers are hovering around a 49 year low nationally and are even lower in the Cape/Jackson metro and all of our surrounding counties. Of course I’m talking about unemployment rates. June figures were just released for the U. S. and the rate actually rose slightly from a 49 year low of 3.6% to 3.7%. The state of Missouri has a 3.3% rate. The Cape/Jackson metro has a 2.9% unemployment rate – well below state and national rates. All of our area counties are below national numbers with Perry

It accounts for more than $16 billion dollars annually in economic impact for the state of Missouri and more than $250 million dollars locally. Tourism is in the top three industries in Missouri’s economic picture. More than 308,000 people are employed in this sector accounting for 1 in 12 Missouri jobs. Of 114 counties in the state, Cape County is in the top 15 for tourism related spending. Forecasts by Tourism Economics predict spending will continue to rise for the next several years. Tourism

The old adage “rain, rain go away come again another day” could never be more true than it is right now. Being at significant flood stage for more than 110 days, seep water in southern Illinois, and consistent rain and storms have really taken a toll on our area. Consider just a few of these examples of impact to our local economy. First and foremost, residents affected by the flood waters and storms are dealing with costly damage and clean up. Many southern Illinois residents work in the Cape

There’s a new business coming to the Cape/Jackson metro. In fact, coming to many locations in the state of Missouri. On November 6, 2018, Missouri voters overwhelmingly passed Constitutional Amendment 2 legalizing marijuana for approved medical use in Missouri. Since then, officials have been grappling with rules and regulations related to implementing the will of the people who joined many states in openly defying federal law with this vote. The state must consider regulating grow operations,

The U.S. Census Bureau has released the 2018 population estimates. Do you know if your city is growing? Certainly one indicator of an area’s well-being is population growth. Most believe active, vibrant communities are growing communities and vice versa. So let’s take a quick look at what the numbers tell us about growth or decline since the 2010 census. The state of Missouri is growing but at a very modest rate: 2.3%. This is a good baseline to use when measuring individual city growth. So let

There is a real threat to many businesses in the United States and our area is certainly not immune. According to Forbes, between 80 – 90 percent of U.S. businesses are family owned or family controlled. Statistics tell us less than one third of those will survive into the second generation and roughly only 10 percent will make it to the third and beyond. Business succession planning is very important and is a process whereby owners research and decide upon a plan to move forward in case of the

Partnerships are so important in the success of the local economy. For two decades we have enjoyed a key successful partnership resulting in great results. Old Town Cape was established in 1999 and the Cape Chamber was part of the organizing effort. OTC is an accredited Main Street Program for downtown revitalization based on the four point approach of promotion, design, economic vitality, and organization. The organization has thrived under the leadership of Director Marla Mills. Recently, she

One local economic indicator record was broken and another was a very close second. We receive monthly reports from the City of Cape Girardeau revealing sales tax numbers. They are always a month or two behind actual receipts and provide an excellent year over year comparison a month at a time. So the April report received in May likely covered the month of March activities. As my teaser indicated, we experienced the largest receipts ever for restaurants and the second largest receipts ever for