A White House economic advisor says there is an "overwhelming" need to do more to spur U.S. job creation and solidify a fragile economic recovery. The comment follows a disappointing monthly unemployment report that showed continuing job losses in the United States.
一位白宫经济顾问指出，目前迫切需要更多努力来重振美国就业市场以及巩固美国经济复苏。这番讲话之前，一份月就业率报告显示，美国就业市场持续疲软。
Less than a year after President Barack Obama signed into law the biggest economic stimulus package in U.S. history, the head of his Council of Economic Advisers says additional measures are needed.
美国总统奥巴马签署有史以来最庞大的经济刺激计划还不到一年，他的经济顾问委员会主席克里斯蒂娜·罗默已经表示，美国还需要采取更多的措施。
"The sense that we need to do more is overwhelming," Christina Romer said on ABC's This Week program. She said key elements of last year's $787-billion stimulus package - like unemployment benefits and aid to state governments - should be extended.
她说：“我们迫切地需要一些其他的举措。”罗默在美国广播公司节目《本周》中发表了上述观点。她说，政府应当延长去年高达7870亿美元的经济刺激计划。这其中包括失业补贴以及对州政府的联邦补贴。
But Romer also called for new measures like tax incentives for businesses to hire new workers and cash rebates for people who make their homes more energy efficient.
但是罗默同时呼吁采取新的举措，例如提供税收优惠以鼓励公司招募新进人员，以及给予现金回扣以使人们愿意将住所变得更加节能化。
Friday, the U.S. Labor Department reported a net 85,000 job loss in the United States last month, with unemployment holding steady at 10 percent. The numbers were a disappointment to economists who had held out hope that December might have recorded the first net job gains seen in the United States in nearly two years.
星期五，美国劳工部发表的报告指出，上个月美国就业市场共失去了8万5千个职位，而失业率仍处于10%的峰值。这个数字令经济学家十分失望，因为此前他们预言12月可能成为美国两年来首次就业出现正增长的月份。
"It was somewhat of a setback," said the economic advisor.
罗默说：“这是或多或少的一次挫败。”
Romer added that mild job losses and a stable unemployment rate are an improvement over the situation that existed a year ago, when hundreds of thousands of jobs were being lost each month and the unemployment rate was soaring.
罗默指出，缓慢的职位流失以及相对稳定的失业率与去年的情况相比已经是一种进步。那时每个月有数十万的职位流失，而失业率也每天不断攀升。
"In the first quarter of 2009 when we [the Obama administration] first came in, we were losing on average 691,000 jobs a month. The job losses are moderating."
“在2009年第一季度奥巴马政府刚刚上台时，我们平均一个月能流失69万1千个职位。目前失业情况有所缓和。”
But Republicans say it is time for President Obama to make good on his promise to actually improve America's economic conditions, rather than slowing the rate of decline. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele spoke on Fox News Sunday.
但是共和党人表示，目前奥巴马政府应当真正实现他重振美国经济的承诺，而不只是缓和失业率的上涨。共和党全国委员会主席迈克尔·斯蒂尔在福克斯周日新闻中这样表示：
"What are we about to celebrate as we go into the one-year anniversary of this [Obama] administration? We have no jobs, no health care [reform], $13-trillion worth of debt, and no sense of direction in how we are going to create those jobs," he said.
“目前政府已经执政长达一年，而我们在庆祝什么? 市场仍然缺乏就业机会，医保计划仍未出台，还有高达13万亿美元的负债。目前我们还是不知道如何来创造市场流失的职位。”
Last month, the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives passed a second stimulus bill aimed at jump-starting U.S. employment. The Senate is expected to consider the measure in coming weeks. Top economic voices in the Obama administration applaud the initiative, but add that, ultimately, America's private sector must lead the way in job creation and economic expansion.
上个月，民主党控制的众议院通过了第二份经济刺激计划，目的是刺激美国就业市场。参议院将于未来几个星期开始考虑这项计划。奥巴马政府的经济顾问欢迎这项举措，但是补充说，到最后必须要依靠美国的私人公司来刺激就业和引导经济增长。
The consensus view among economists is that the U.S. unemployment rate will gradually decline in coming months as the economy rebounds from the worst recession since World War II. But some well-known economists are considerably more pessimistic, arguing that unemployment could rise further and the United States could slip back into recession by year's end.
经济学家的共识指出，随着经济从二战之后最严重的衰退中开始恢复，美国的失业率将在未来几个月内开始下降。但是一些著名的经济学家也对市场表示悲观，认为失业率可能再度增长，而美国在年底可能再次陷入衰退。 |