Economy

The Cape Girardeau Regional Airport celebrated their first flight to Chicago on Friday, Dec. 1 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. In August, the U.S. Department of Transportation approved SkyWest, a United Express airline, as the new air carrier to provide service to the airport, ending an eight year contract with Cape Air.

Airport manager Bruce Loy gave his last thank you to the previous carrier, saying they were an incredible partner in making that moment possible.

The City of Perryville is known for its economic health, especially considering their rural location. Generally full employment is considered to be around 5%, and the unemployment rate there is around 3%. Many companies are headquartered in the city, and many people work there. But there aren’t a lot of places for them to live within city limits, especially homes that would work for a single family. During the day, the population increases by around 40 percent, which indicates that people are probably making a hefty commute to get to work.

Next week, Lt. Gov. Mike Parson will be launching “Buy Missouri”, a new statewide program that will recognize and promote Missouri-made products.

Director of Communications for the Office of the Lt. Gov., Tyler Habiger, says it’s their goal to let Missourians know what is made here, and what they can buy to help the state’s economy.

More than 250 job openings are coming to AT&T in Missouri. At a press conference Wednesday in Cape Girardeau, John Sondag, president of AT&T Missouri announced the company will hire 150 people to fill its call centers in Cape Girardeau, and an additional 100 in Springfield.

The announcement comes on the heels of a labor agreement earlier this year between AT&T and the Communications Workers of America to employ 3,000 people in the Southwestern part of the state. Sondag said support from area politicians makes it easier for companies like his to operate in Missouri.