商业周刊:最后雇佣却先遭解雇(1)

'Last Hired, First Fired': Seven People Who Lost Work in the Virus Recession.

“最后雇佣，首先遭解雇”：在病毒引起的经济衰退中，失去工作的七个人。

The pandemic could penalize¹ some categories of employees more heavily.

这场流行病可能会使某些类别的雇员处于更不利的地位。

The U.S. is in the midst of an historic crisis that's turned back the clock on more than a decade's worth of labor² market gains for workers across several demographics.

美国正处于一场历史性的危机之中，这场危机使过去十多年来劳动力市场在几个人口统计方面获得的收益大打折扣。

Figures due Friday are expected to show the national jobless rate surged in April to 14.7%, the highest in monthly data going back to the 1940s.

预计周五公布的数据将显示，四月份全国失业率飙升至14.7%，为上世纪40年代月度数据的最高值。

Unemployment rates for black Americans and Hispanics fell to historic lows during a record-long economic expansion that saw the overall jobless rate drop to a half-century low.

美国黑人和西班牙裔的失业率，在创纪录的长期经济扩张中跌至历史低点，整个失业率降至半个世纪以来的最低点。

Women entered the labor market at an increasingly high pace,

女性以越来越高的速度进入劳动力市场，

and as of December they made up the majority of payroll³ employment. Also, wage growth picked up across the board.

截至12月，她们占了就业人口的大部分份额。此外，工资增长全面回升。

Faced with a shortage of workers, many employers made accommodations to fill openings.

面对工人短缺，许多雇主为填补职位空缺，为员工提供住宿。

Former prisoners got job offers, drug tests were waived⁴, schedules became more flexible, and training became part of the job rather than a prerequisite⁵.

曾经的囚犯得到了工作机会，不再进行毒品测试，工作日程变得更加灵活，培训成为工作的一部分，而不是先决条件。

It's too soon to say how many of these labor market milestones⁶ will stand after the waves of layoffs⁷ subside⁸;

现在说在裁员浪潮平息后，这些劳动力市场中的转折点有多少将保持不变，还为时过早。

more than 33 million people have lost their jobs in the past seven weeks.

在过去七周，超过3300万人失业。

Yet it's difficult to be optimistic.

然而，人们很难抱持乐观的态度。

Historically, minority workers have been penalized⁹ by a "last hired, first fired" dynamic that has limited their ability to notch¹⁰ up wage gains.

历史上，少数族裔工人一直受到“最后雇用，最先遭解雇”的影响，这限制了他们提高工资的能力。

New college graduates will likely struggle for a foothold inthe job market, as did those during the Great Recession.

新的大学毕业生很可能会像大萧条时期那样，在就业市场上苦苦挣扎。

1 penalize   

vt.对…处以刑罚，宣告…有罪；处罚

参考例句：

• It would be unfair to penalize those without a job.失业人员待遇低下是不公平的。
• The association decided not to penalize you for the race.赛马协会决定对你不予处罚。

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 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

4 waived   

v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等）

参考例句：

• He has waived all claim to the money. 他放弃了索取这笔钱的权利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I waived the discourse, and began to talk of my business. 我撇开了这个话题，开始讲我的事情。 来自辞典例句

5 prerequisite   

n.先决条件；adj.作为前提的，必备的

参考例句：

• Stability and unity are a prerequisite to the four modernizations.安定团结是实现四个现代化的前提。
• It is a prerequisite of entry to the profession that you pass the exams.做这一行的先决条件是要通过了有关的考试。

6 milestones   

n.重要事件( milestone的名词复数 )；重要阶段；转折点；里程碑

参考例句：

• Several important milestones in foreign policy have been passed by this Congress and they can be chalked up as major accomplishments. 这次代表大会通过了对外政策中几起划时代的事件，并且它们可作为主要成就记录下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dale: I really envy your milestones over the last few years, Don. 我真的很羡慕你在过去几年中所建立的丰功伟绩。 来自互联网

7 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

8 subside   

vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降

参考例句：

• The emotional reaction which results from a serious accident takes time to subside.严重事故所引起的情绪化的反应需要时间来平息。
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon.围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。

9 penalized   

对…予以惩罚( penalize的过去式和过去分词 )； 使处于不利地位

参考例句：

• You will be penalized for poor spelling. 你拼写不好将会受到处罚。
• Team members will be penalized for lateness. 队员迟到要受处罚。

10 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。