VOA常速英语2014--美国7月增加20.9万工作机会 但失业率回弹到6.2%

 

US Adds 209K Jobs in July, Unemployment Rises to 6.2% 美国7月增加20.9万工作机会 但失业率回弹到6.2%

WASHINGTON —

The latest employment report www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm shows the U.S. economy growing at a steady pace, adding 209,000 jobs in July. While the gains were not as strong as the previous three months, the July jobs report marks the sixth straight month of job growth above 200,000.

美国最新的就业数字显示，经济增长稳健，在7月增加了20.9万个工作机会。尽管7月份的增长势头没有前三个月强劲，但是连续六个月就业人数增长超过20万。经济学者认为，要想使失业率下降，美国雇主必须每个月创造20 万个工作机会。

That’s the number of jobs economists² believe U.S. employers need to create each month to reduce the unemployment rate. And yet, despite another solid month of hiring, the unemployment rate rose slightly.

然而，尽管就业人数继续增长，失业率却开始回弹。

The U.S. economy extended its winning streak³, bouncing back with another solid month of job gains after a weak start this year. The Obama administration says that's no surprise. Speaking at the White House on Friday, President Barack Obama said tough decisions he made early on are paying off.

美国经济在今年初的低落期之后恢复活力，度过了又一个稳步增长的月份。奥巴马政府称这并不意外。奥巴马总统周五在白宫发表讲话说，他早些时候作出的艰难抉择开始产生效果。

“Over the past year, we've added more jobs than any year since 2006. And all told our businesses have created 9.9 million new jobs over the past 53 months. That's the longest streak of private sector⁴ job creation in our history," he said.

“去年，我们增加的就业机会比2006年以来的任何一年都要多。我们的企业界在过去的53个月创造了9百90万个工作机会。这是我们历史上最长时间的一次私营部门就业增长。”

But it wasn't enough to lower the unemployment rate, which rose one tenth of a percent in July to 6.2 percent. Economist¹ Sean Snaith at the Institute for Economic Competitiveness said that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

但这并不足以降低失业率。失业率在7月份回升了0.1个百分点，达到6.2%。经济竞争力研究所的经济学家肖恩?斯内斯说，这并不一定是坏事。

"People see businesses are hiring at a faster pace, they feel more confident they’re going to be able to find a job so they get back into the job search, which boosts up the labor⁵ force and push up those unemployment numbers,” said Snaith.

“人们看到企业界的雇佣步伐加快。他们自信有能力找到工作，所以他们又开始找工作。这就增加了劳动力数量和失业人数。”

Americans who are not actively⁶ seeking work are not counted as unemployed⁷.

美国人当中不积极找工作的人不被算作失业人群。

That’s driven the so-called job participation⁸ rate to a 35-year low. That means millions of unemployed Americans who have stopped looking for work remain hidden in the shadows. That’s especially true for 3.2 million Americans who have been unemployed 27 months or longer, according to Cornell University Professor Sharon Poczter.

这就使得所谓的参加工作率下降到35年来的最低水平，也意味着数百万失业并停止找工作的美国人不在统计之列。康奈尔大学教授沙伦?博克斯特说，有3百20万连续至少27个月失业的美国人就属于这种情况。

“And the percentage of unemployed that is long-term unemployed is the largest that it’s been since the Great Depression,” she said.

“这个长期失业的失业率是自大萧条以来最高的。”

While the job participation rate has risen slightly, the job gains have yet to translate into bigger paychecks for most Americans. Still, key indicators⁹ suggest the U.S. recovery is finally gaining momentum¹⁰ five years after the financial crisis.

虽然参加工作率略有上升，但是对大多数美国人而言，就业增加并没有转化为更高的薪水。

1 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。

2 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

4 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。

5 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。

6 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

7 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

8 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。

9 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。

10 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。