美国国家公共电台 NPR--The job market got even better, in a surprisingly positive sign for the economy

The job market got even better, in a surprisingly positive sign for the economy

Transcript¹

The pace of hiring unexpectedly surged last month, as the U.S. job market showed surprising strength in the face of high inflation and softening² economic activity.

Employers added 528,000 jobs in July according to the Labor³ Department — a significant acceleration⁴ from the previous month.

Job gains for May and June were also revised upwards⁵ by a total of 28,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, matching its lowest level in decades.

The uptick in job growth surprised analysts⁶ who had expected a slowdown. The U.S. economy has now replaced all of the jobs that were lost in the early months of the pandemic.

July's gains were widespread, with bars and restaurants adding 74,000 jobs, factories adding 30,000 jobs, and retailers⁷ adding 22,000 jobs.

Construction companies also added workers, despite a slowdown in homebuilding amid rising interest rates.

No signs of widespread job cuts

Separate reports from the Labor Department this week showed the number of unfilled job openings has declined slightly, while the number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits is inching up.

Still, there's no sign of widespread layoffs⁸ or a sharp jump in unemployment, although some companies like trading app Robinhood have recently announced job cuts.

"I think what we're seeing is the soft landing that a lot of folks are hoping for," said Dave Gilbertson, vice⁹ president at UKG, which tracks the working hours of some four million hourly employees. "I really do believe this is going to be a tight labor market for a long time."

The strength of the job market is in contrast with other economic indicators¹⁰, which show the U.S. economy shrinking during the first six months of the year.

That's often a sign of recession, but many observers find that hard to reconcile with an economy that's added more than 3 million jobs this year.

"If you think about what a recession really is, it's a broad-based decline across many industries that's sustained for more than a couple of months," Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last week. "This doesn't seem like that."

The Fed faces a challenging task

Powell and his colleagues at the central bank are deliberately¹¹ trying to slow the economy by raising interest rates in an effort to curb¹² inflation. But they hope to do so without triggering a recession or widespread job loss.

"We think that there's a path for us to be able to bring inflation down while sustaining a strong labor market," Powell said. "We know that the path has clearly narrowed."

The central bank would actually welcome some cooling in the job market, since red-hot wage growth has the potential to fuel inflation. Private sector¹³ wages jumped a whopping 5.7% for the twelve months ending in June, while employers' cost for benefits rose 5.3%.

"Wage gains and benefit growth is great for households," said Sarah House, a senior economist¹⁴ at Wells Fargo. "But it's still trailing in comparison to inflation and it's making the Fed's inflation problem very difficult to control and bring down."

Not all recessions are created equal

House predicts that job growth will continue to slow this year as interest rates climb and consumer spending softens¹⁵. Even if the Fed's efforts to curb inflation do lead to a recession, as many forecasters expect, it's likely to be much milder than the last two economic downturns, in 2007-9 and 2020.

"Not all recessions are nearly as bruising¹⁶ as a financial crisis or a global pandemic," House said.

Friday's report shows fewer people were working or looking for work in July, after a substantial drop in the labor force the month before. Much of last month's decline was among teenagers. The participation¹⁷ rate among workers aged¹⁸ 25 to 54 inched up a bit.

"Given the inflation that households are seeing right now, that might tip some workers to come back into the jobs market," House said, "just to help shore up their finances."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

5 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

8 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

11 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

12 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

14 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

15 softens   

（使）变软( soften的第三人称单数 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• Iron softens with heat. 铁受热就软化。
• Moonlight softens our faults; all shabbiness dissolves into shadow. 月光淡化了我们的各种缺点，所有的卑微都化解为依稀朦胧的阴影。 来自名作英译部分

16 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

17 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

18 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。