商业报道:找工作:难

Job-Seekers May Need Patience

Statistics show the average job search is taking a bit longer than four months

As the economy takes a downturn, job concerns are starting to turn up.

The national unemployment rate is at a 3-year high with 5.1% of working-age Americans actively¹ looking for work. Well that's a historically low figure, it's a major worry for many people, leaving some to wonder how long will it take to find work should they lose their job.

According to the Bureau of Labor² Statistics, the average job search is taking a bit longer than four months for the average worker looking for work. Outplacement firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas says their latest job market survey shows the search is a little easier for experienced managers. These white-collar workers were finding work in about 3 months.

One interesting bit about job security---the more education you have, the less chance you'll be unemployed³. Workers who have a bachelor’s degree or higher have a national unemployment rate of just 2.1%. 8.2% of people who did not complete high school are now looking for work.

With the ABC News Money Minute, I'm Bessie Stark⁴, in New York.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, with headquarters located in Chicago, Illinois, is the oldest executive outplacement firm in the US. It has offices in 52 cities in the US and Canada, and has operations in Japan and Mexico. The firm also conducts regular surveys and issues reports on the state of the economy, employment, job-seeking, layoffs⁵ and executive compensation. They also conduct one-off surveys on such subjects as workplace bullying⁶, lost productivity due to the Super Bowl, and working women. Their core business, finding jobs for laid-off executives, is unusual in that they will only accept as clients people whose former companies will sponsor the client's job search.

统计数字表明，找工作的平均时间可能会在四个月以上。

由于经济下滑，对工作的担忧日益凸显。

全国失业率达到三年来最高水平，5.1%的工作适龄美国人正在积极找工作。这是历史新低，对许多人来讲都是最担心的事情，大家都在想，如果失业，需要多长的时间能够找到新工作。

根据美国劳工局公布的数字，对于找工作的人来说，找工作的平均时间大概在四个月以上。职业介绍公司Challenger, Gray & Christmas 表示，他们最新的人才市场调查显示，有经验的经理找工作相对更容易一些。这些白领人士大约三个月之内就可以找到工作。

工作安全方面有趣的一点是——你受到教育越多，事业的机会越少。获得学士学位以上的人平均失业率是2.1%。没有高中毕业的人有8.2%的人正在找工作。

我是ABC新闻Money Minute的Bessie Stark，我现在在纽约。

Challenger, Gray & Christmas的总部在伊利诺斯州的芝加哥。该公司是美国最早的职业介绍公司，在美国和加拿大的52个城市都有分公司，在日本和墨西哥也有办事机构。该公司也对经济状况，招聘，求职，解雇和补偿问题进行常规的调查。他们也对工作场所威胁，生产能力和工作女性进行一次性调查。他们的核心业务是帮助被解雇的主管找工作。该公司有一点不寻常，他们只给那些之前的公司会发布招聘职位的人介绍工作。

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

5 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

6 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》