VOA慢速英语2020 疫情致美国4月份失业率创历史记录（在线收听）

Coronavirus Blamed for Historic US Unemployment Rate in April

The United States economy lost 20.5 million jobs last month. That represents the sharpest increase in the number of jobless Americans since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

It is the strongest evidence yet of how much damage the novel coronavirus is causing the world's biggest economy.

The U.S. Labor Department released its monthly employment report Friday. It shows April's unemployment rate rising to 14.7 percent from a historically low 4.4 percent a month earlier. That sets a record for the highest jobless rate since World War II. The old record was 10.8 percent in November of 1982.

The new unemployment report strengthens economists' expectations of a slow recovery from the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The report provides evidence of the economic damage resulting from new public safety measures. Many states and local governments announced stay-at-home orders in March to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

The weak economic conditions could hurt President Donald Trump's efforts to win a second term in office. The U.S. presidential elections will take place six months from now.

Trump has said he wants to reopen the economy although the number of COVID-19 infections continues to rise.

"Our economy is on life support now," said Erica Groshen, a former commissioner of the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. "We will be testing the waters in the next few months to see if it can emerge safely," she added.

Groshen now works for the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Europe's economic health

Separately, a new survey shows how much the coronavirus pandemic is affecting European economies. It shows that business activity across the continent shrunk last month.

The new survey numbers come from IHS Markit's final Composite Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) for the euro zone. The index is said to be a good sign of the economic health of European Union countries.

The PMI for April 2020 fell to 13.6 percent, compared to 29.7 percent in March. The Reuters news agency says that represents the lowest reading since the very first survey in 1998.

Germany's service industry recorded its weakest performance ever. It reduced overall private sector activity in Europe's largest economy to historically low levels.

French service providers saw a collapse in business activity because of a nationwide lockdown. New public health measures have forced all non-essential businesses, like supermarkets and drug stores, to close.

Italy's service industry shrank last month at its fastest rate in more than 22 years.

Other studies have shown business activity across Asia and the Americas also ground to a halt last month.

I'm John Russell.

疫情致美国4月份失业率创历史记录

美国经济上月损失了2050万个就业岗位。这是自上世纪30年代大萧条以来，美国失业人数的增长最快的一次。

这是迄今为止最有力的证据，证明新冠病毒对世界最大经济体造成的破坏。

美国劳工部周五发布了月度就业报告。报告显示，4月的失业率从一个月前4.4%的历史低位上升到了14.7%。这创下了二战以来最高的失业率记录。1982年11月创下的记录是10.8%。

最新失业报告增强了经济学家的预测——经济从新冠病毒大流行造成的衰退中缓慢复苏。

该报告提供了新的公共安全措施造成了经济损失的证据。许多州和地方政府在3月份宣布了居家令，以延缓由新冠病毒引发的新冠肺炎的传播。

疲软的经济状况可能会损害特朗普总统争取连任的努力。美国总统大选将于6个月后举行。

特朗普表示，尽管新冠肺炎感染人数持续上升，但是他还是希望重新开放经济。

美国劳工部劳工统计局前局长埃里卡·格罗森表示：“我们的经济现已到了奄奄一息的程度。”她还表示：“我们将在接下来的几个月里试水，看看能否死里逃生。”

格罗森现在就职于康奈尔大学劳资关系学院。

欧洲的经济状况

另外，一项新的调查显示了新冠病毒大流行对欧洲经济的影响有多大。调查表明，上个月整个欧洲大陆的商业活动均有所减少。

这项新调查来自于IHS Markit调查公司的欧元区综合采购经理指数终值。该数据说是欧盟国家经济状况一个重要标志。

2020年4月的PMI降至13.6%，低于3月的29.7%。路透社表示，这是自1998年首次调查以来的最低水平。

德国服务业的表现是有史以来最差的。这导致德国这个欧洲最大经济体的私营部门总体活跃度降至历史最低水平。

由于全国范围内的封锁，法国服务提供商的业务活动大幅减少。新的公共卫生措施已经迫使所有非必需业务（如超市和药店）关闭。

上个月，意大利服务业以22年以来最快的速度萎缩。

其它研究表明，上月，整个亚洲和美洲的经济活动也都陷入停滞。

约翰·罗塞尔为您播报。