October 19, 1984

Suburban Chinese restaurants have turned to New York City neighborhoods for the Chinese workers they cannot find in their own. Restaurant owners say they prefer Chinese workers, in part because they can more easily communicate with Chinese chefs and also because patrons expect to see Chinese waiters serving Chinese food. But they can't find such workers in the suburbs, they say, where many Chinese-American residents are doctors, lawyers or engineers. So every morning, hundreds of vans and station wagons from restaurants in northern New Jersey, southern Connecticut, Long Island and Westchester County pour into the city to pick up workers.

The Sports of The Times column yesterday incorrectly described a prize in the New York City Marathon. This is the first year that Mercedes- Benz cars will be awarded.

FOR a man who describes himself as ''less than a beginner in the playwriting business,'' Isaac Bashevis Singer figures that he hasn't done too badly. This weekend, for instance, he has two plays opening Off Broadway. ''A Play for the Devil,'' in Yiddish, will have its premiere tomorrow at the Folksbiene Theater. ''Shlemiel the First,'' which has been translated into English, opens Sunday night at the Jewish Repertory Theater. Mr. Singer, who received the 1978 Nobel Prize for Literature, sat in the American Restaurant, a cafe on the Upper West Side that he visits at least once, and sometimes twice, a day. It was 3 P.M. but the waiter put down a cup of split pea soup with croutons. ''Your favorite, Mr. Singer,'' he said. Mr. Singer spooned it slowly because he had already had lunch, ''a lttle something'' at home.

The Economy Nigeria cut the price of its major oil grade by $2 a barrel , to $28, becoming the first OPEC member to break the official price structure set 18 months ago. Earlier in the week, Britain and Norway cut their oil prices. Reaction in foreign-exchange, stock and credit markets was swift, with traders believing that a general oil price break is inevitable. (Page A1.) Personal income rose 0.9 percent in September and consumer spending climbed 1.4 percent. The spending increase followed two flat months and was the biggest since last April. (D14.)

Friday POLITICAL SKITS ON 42D ST. A political cabaret put together and acted by alumni and friends of John Houseman's Acting Company, including Christopher Durang, Marian Seldes, Margot Harley and Mark O'Donnell, opens tonight at 11 in the Studio Theater at Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42d Street. It is called ''Issue? I Don't Even Know You!,'' and among the skits is one on charisma - a politician switches topics as meters hooked to some of his listeners indicate they're getting bored. The cabaret's participants are volunteering their services for the production, which will benefit the Women's Campaign Fund, a bipartisan organization that supports women in the early stages of their political careers. Fridays and Saturdays at 11 P.M., Sundays at 7, Mondays at 8 until Election Day. Tickets: $10. Reservations: 279-4200. Information: 564-3510. ASIAN JAZZ FESTIVAL