Show AS StandanJ-Examin- Thursday March 17 1988 er ©©nsfiruetioin) aefioVifiy plyin By JIM SAWDEY j- big change for the next Standard Examiner business winter - When looking for bright spots t in Utah’s economy the construc- tion industry is not the place to - look Utah’s construction industry built less in 1987 than at any oth--'time in the past 17 years ac- cording to the Utah Construction Report Utah issued only 7305 building t permits for residential and non- residential dwellings which is 45 - percent below 1986 figures and is the third straight year state building permits have declined Overbuilding high interest rates an economic bust in the oil and mining industry new tax laws and a massive exodus of Utah residents all contributed to "the record decline said the report’s author and state research analyst Austin Sargent ' “We’re hoping we’ve hit bottom and will start bouncing back up" Sargent said “But I don’t see a - er : OE National ’ The House Labor and Educa- tion Committee on Wednesday ignored the threat of a presidential veto and approved legislation to raise the minimum wage from $335 per hour to $505 over the next four years The measure which passed after numerous Republican attempts to weaken or gut it now goes to the full House Scientists at International Business Machines Corp have made and tested the world’s fastest silicon circuits the company said Wednesday IBM said the circuits could switch on and off 75 billion times a second twice as fast as the fast- est silicon transistors known to date Continued uncertainty in the -- financial markets has not greatly undermined US business execu- - tives expectations for second quarter sales and profits accord- - ing to a survey published today Dun & Bradstreet Corp The i business research company polled 1500 executives nationwide between Feb 9 and Feb 23 for its latest quarterly business expecta- tions survey Based on the survey Dun & Bradstreet’s sales optimism index for the second quarter remained strong at 69 Flreatone Tire & Rubber Co ' has gained a court victory in its attempt to thwart a takeover by - Italian tiremaker Pirelli with a federal judge’s refusal to block Ohio’s law as Iby anti-takeov- single-famil- family housing construction d in 1987 The 6500 single family units permitted in 1987 was a decrease of 23 percent compared to 1986 the report nose-dive- said “Single family dwellings depend on jobs and interest rates" And both have been unfavorable Sargent said Weber Davis and Salt Lake counties all showed decreases in home construction- while Box Elder County showed an increase Dee Livingood of Ogden’s Big D Construction said his employment level dropped by 35 workers compared to last year’s high of 180 workers Big D is building four shopping centers in Ogden er in new residential units decreasing 37 percent followed closesly by Utah at 36 percent' Arizona at 33 percent New Mexico at 25 percent Idaho at 22 percent and Nevada at 2 percent Utah had the largest decrease in value of construction declining 27 percent compared to last year Only Arizona’s construction value increased last year Utah’s total construction activity fell well below the national average declining 22 percent compared to 24 percent national- Layton Murray and Taylorsville “I’m a positive person I think things will get better but I have no bearing in fact Livingood said A $60 million decrease over last year in the commercial market is what he’s concerned about he said He said developers are very cautious now because of federal tax changes initiated last year “The developers don’t know where they stand They don’t know what the rules are yet" he said As bad as y construction was in 1987 the multi- family category was even worse declining 84 percent non-resident- ial - And while construction increased 7 percent nationally it fell 27 percent in Utah There was one bright spot however al In the Intermountain region only Montana and Wyoming experienced increases in total construction activity — up 27 percent and 17 percent respec- The Jordanelle Dam project construction of natural gas lines and electrical transmission lines and bridge repair and construc tively Colorado had the largest decline i trnregiilMrfigir February 87 February 88 7Q I sates of residential homes In number of units: persists Monthly Ogden sales soft during February r WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department said today The excess of imports over exports was up from the $122 billion deficit in December Exports which had propelled improvement in November and December fell by 10 percent in January to $223 billion Analysts had expected a deterioration of the trade balance in January noting that exports are traditionally down in that month However imports also fell in business editor OGDEN — Home sales reported through area realty companies slumped for the fourth straight month and hit a four-yelow in February Only 70 homes on the Ogden Board of Realtor’s multiple listing service sold during the month the lowest total since the board began tracking residential sales in 1984 The previous low was 75 in February MAMJ J ASON 19S7 D J F ’88 ar The total does not include most new homes or homes sold by the owner “We’ve truly been in a very soft market” said Zan§ Froer-e-r president of the Ogden Board of Realtors “I think it’s a super buyer’s opportunity out there Prices are as low as I’ve ever seen them” The average price for homes sold in February was $65287 off nearly $4000 from last year’s average price of more than $69000 Existing home sales have slumped each month since hitting 218 last October The lull is beginning to put a dent in the realty business Froerer acknowledged “We’ve seen a number of licensees drop out of the busi Source: Ogden Board of Realtor Standard-Examin- ness Some of those who have been in the business for a long time dropped out” Interest rates continue to hov- er around 10 percent but Froerer said some lenders are tightening their qualification re- after suffering losses from bad real estate quirements loans “It’s not as easy to get the 95 percent loan as it once was” he said The most popular forms of financing for homes sold during the month were conventional mortgages and assumptions at 14 homes each Eleven buyers trade deficit is shrinking but that billion improvements will be agonizingly Thus the deficit for the month slow with many setbacks along — eagerly followed by financial the way — like January’s Still the fact that imports were markets — was somewhat better than most analysts had expected down was viewed as a bright spot “It’s hard for me to see how we in the report can repeat the same magnitude of The deficit with Japan — the growth in exports that we had in with which this nation country the two previous months" said runs its largest deficit — fell by Allen Sinai chief economist for 176 percent in January to $39 the Boston Company Economic billion the lowest levAdvisers Inc el since December 1986 Exports had increased 94 percent in November and 42 perOne major category of imports cent in December to record from Japan — new automobiles — registered a 195 percent levels drop Analysts claim that the overall in January to $16 billion one-mon- Greenspan right Mirror in o3 C 15 in ec 3 IQ- - ® Z 1977 1978 1979 1980 1983 1984 198519861987 1981 1982 Source: Utah Construction Report Standard-Examin- er tion led the way to increase nonbuilding construction by 53 percent in Utah The nation averaged an 8 percent increase The poor showing in the construction industry translates into a loss of 4500 construction jobs graphic statewide according to Job Service figures Job Service economist Lecia Parks said she believes the number of construction jobs in the state will begin to increase this year Employers liable for harassment attorney asserts r business writer OGDEN — Sexual harassment in the work place is pervasive and destructive and employers are responsible to see that their employees are protected according to an attorney who has handled Utah cases on the subject high-profi- le “Sexual harassment is a signifi- January by 6 percent to $348 Business to 1987: cant problem” said Zane Gill 1984 NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are accustomed to hearing Federal Reserve chiefs discourse on the threat of inflation but some might have been mystified John Cunilf by Alan Greenspan’s reference to Associated Press business analyst it this week Greenspan told Congress that a jobs? How can there be a labor further decline in the jobless rate shortage when the jobless rate is now 57 percent might produce so much above the old 4 percent upward pressure on wages — "full employment” standard? and since wages are a large conAnd how can inflation which is usually associated with a boilstituent of prices on the probability of inflation ing economy be a threat at a How can that be many Ameritime when expansion is so slugcans are asking? gish at times it lakes the most soHow can there be a worker phisticated statistical measures to catch any movement at all? shortage when 7 million members of the labor force are without Greenspan’s reference to the In Utah 1977 25 Standard-Examine- graphic used FHA financing a popular e vehicle for home buyfirst-tim- ers Of the 20 sales areas tracked by the board four had no sales in February: Ogden Valley northwest Ogden Weber CanyonMorgan County and RiverdaleWash-ingto- n Terrace Can-yonOgd- en Froerer citing Census Bureau statistics said the percentage of people owning homes compared to renting in the US has dropped from a high of 66 per- cent in the late 1970s to around 63 percent now US trade deficit widens slightly nation’s trade deficit widened slightly in January to $124 billion after two months of sharp improvements the Commerce construction Permlt-authorlz- By KRISTINE M LOOSLEY By ROGER PLOTHOW Standard-Examine- luiBiKgmaiiitgtiim ly single-famil- Housing slump Business experimental year" Sargent predicts construction activity in 1988 to remain at about the same level as 1987 Only about 8000 dwellings will be constructed this year A majority will be residential units y Both and multi- in th And the nation even showed its first surplus in nearly three years with Britain in January exporting $75 million more than it imported Despite the drop in January ex- ' ports manufacturing industry leaders have said that recent gains in exports point to a genuine boom due in large part to a weaker dollar — now worth just half its value of three years against other key currencies A weaker dollar makes US goods cheaper abroad and foreign products more expensive at home who represents Shauna Clark in her lawsuit against former Salt Lake County Attorney Ted Cannon and who represented three women in an action against former St George police chief Joe Hutchings Both Cannon and Hutchings resigned in the wake of the allegations “Upward of 80 percent of women in the work place have experienced sexual harassment in one way or another during their employment” he said citing results of a federal government-sponsore- d study that employers are most often held strictly liable for the behavior of supervisors Gill said noting that employees do not necessarily have to notify an employer of the behavior of the supervisor in order to recover damages cases There are direct costs to employers and society because of sexual harassment Gill said Peo- -' pie subjected to harassment are found to have very low morale and a work environment which fosters sexual harassment is generally one with low productivity “Hostile environment” harassment occurs when the work environment is such that it prevents a person from being able to do his or her job fully because of the mood in the office Gill said In cases involving hostile environment harassment the courts have generally held that employers are responsible only if they knew or should have known about the environment In addition employers may be held strictly liable for the discriminatory behavior of employees under their supervision and in some cases have been ordered to pay damages when sexual harassment is proven he said “Reverse discrimination” re- sults when an employer favors one employee Over another and promotes the employee who gives in to sexual demands In this case the employee who was not promoted has been discriminated against because he or she has not been given the “opportunity” to advance Gill who is a Democratic candidate for the state attorney general’s office spoke at a breakfast meeting of the Ogden Chamber of Commerce today and advised employers to establish formal procedures for investigating complaints of sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination and employees are protected by state and federal laws Complaints can be separated into four general categories of harassment Gill said “Customer related” harassment happens when as a condition of employment an employee is required to dress or act in a way that encourages customers to harass him or her Gill called this the “cocktail waitress syndrome” and said employers can be held responsible for discrimination associated with the condition of 'employment “Quid pro quo” harassment is when a supervisor uses the authority of his or her position to demand sexual favors from subordinates It is in quid pro quo concern over jobless decline subject is bound to be passed off the makeup of the labor force In the 1960s the economy had by some as a mere requirement of the office a ritual expression lots of younger workers to fill the that is now expected of a Fed beginning jobs In the 1980s there chairman since his predecessor are fewer labor-forc- e entrants had made it the No 1 enemy And Congress is considering But there is more to it than sharp increases in the minimum that wage The most significant “more” Stated differently most of involves a better understanding those who are available to take of market forces than existed jobs today are older and more exback in the 1960s when it was perienced and thus come at generally believed that unemployhigher prices You don’t need a ment could drop to 4 percent bedecline to 4 percent before worryfore inflation flared ing about inflation You worry at Experience taught otherwise as 5 percent witness the decade of inflation In truth there is no certainty that followed in the 1970s among economists on the point The second "more" involves at which a falling jobless rate be t S comes inflationary Clearly they were wrong in putting it at 4 percent in the 1960s because double-digit inflation ensued It can be argued therefore that it is merely wisdom and responsibility that causes a Fed chief always to be vigilant and for him to act on the theory it is wiser to ward off inflation than to treat the infection later Greenspan told Congress that in his opinion the country is getting dose to the point at which inflation could be ignited “Certainly it’s less than a percentage point" he said adding that it was his impression that the flare point was “closer to a I half and maybe somewhat less than that" Is he premature in his concern? i Hardly if you consider that the last big bout of inflation was one of the worst and longest the coun try has ever experienced and that it took a harsh recession to defeat it Consider also that a case of inflation in the range of 6 percent — mild when compared with the double-digdisasters of the 1970s — can cut in half the value of everyone’s money in a dozen years Louis Rukeyser is on vacation His column which appears each r Thursday in The will resume when he returns it Standard-Examine- |