STATE OF BUSINESS: Up& Up

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All over the U.S., manufacturers were hiring more workers last week. Employment in July was up to 61,214,000, and in many a city there was already a shortage of skilled technicians; the U.S. Employment Service huddled with state officials to find ways of easing the manpower squeeze. The Federal Reserve Board's index of industrial production shot up to an estimated 204 for August, highest since July 1945 and a five-point rise in a month. Prices were creeping up, too. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in the month ended July 15 its cost-of-living index rose 1.4% to 172.5, highest since October 1948.

Well warned of shortages and higher prices ahead, businessmen were buying frantically, hoping to fatten their inventories before the Government imposed allocations. Prize example: General Electric Co. received 140% more orders for generating equipment in the six weeks from July 7 to Aug. 16 than it had in the preceding six months.