American Scene

District Judge Russell Fagg set bail at $1 million for Mr. Covington, who was arraigned Wednesday on three counts of murder and a dozen other felonies.

NEVADA

Slots company announces layoffs

RENO — International Game Technology (IGT), the world’s largest maker of slot machines and casino systems, is offering buyouts to workers and will lay off an undetermined number of employees because of the struggling economy.

In an e-mail sent to employees Tuesday, IGT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer T.J. Matthews said the number of layoffs will be based on how many workers accept a voluntary separation package that was introduced last week.

IGT spokesman Ed Rogich told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that about 500 employees, age 55 and over, were offered buyouts.

UTAH

Job growth slows; unemployment rises

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s job growth nearly came to a halt in August as the result of a construction industry slowdown in a sluggish housing market.

State statistics released this week show employment grew only 0.3 percent in August, compared with the same period last year.

Mark Knold, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services, says the housing industry is shedding jobs and that’s having a ripple effect through the rest of the work force.

The state has added about 3,200 jobs in the past year.

Utah’s unemployment rate jumped to 3.7 percent in August, up from 2.8 percent last year.

Nationally, the unemployment rate is 6.1 percent.

VERMONT

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