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Show First Security Sights Utah Employment Record Employment in Utah is approximately approxi-mately 229.00Q, up 7,000 over 1956 figures, the First Security News Letter reported this week. Figures do not include agricultural employment. employ-ment. The News Letter is published by the First Security Bank system and is edited by Mr. EIRoy Nelson, First Sscurity vice president and economist, assisted by Harvey Frazier. "Retail sales for the intermoun. tain region are slightly higher than last year's with some increase in food sales," the report shows. "For the first two months department de-partment store sales were up two percent, with most of the increase noted in Salt Lake City." New car sales in Utah for the first three months of 1957 were down 3.5 per cent, although March sales were higher than last year's. Authorized building construction construc-tion in Utah for the first three months totaled $25.6 million, down 13 per cent below last year's. In Idaho's nine major cities 1957's first quarter showed construction at $4.6 million, 18 per cent above 1956 figures. "In Utah, dwelling unit authorization totaling 1,283 is down 23 per cent, valuation down 18 per cent," the News Letter says. "In Idaho, authorization authoriza-tion for 125 dwelling units in nine cities is 4 per cent below that of last year." The report notes that production produc-tion of most nonferrous metals is "about the same as last year's," the index of prices received by farmers is up 6 per cent, and steel productiin in Utah for the first two months of 1957 was 25 per cent higher than last year's. |