VOA标准英语2009-Obama to Hold Jobs Summit in December

By Kent Klein
White House
12 November 2009
 
President Barack Obama delivers a statement on the economy at the White House, 12 Nov 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama says he will hold a wide-ranging jobs summit in December, to discuss ways to put more people to work. The president plans to seek ideas from experts in the private and public sectors¹.

Amid talk the U.S. economy may be in a "jobless recovery," President Obama will hold a forum² at the White House next month on jobs and economic growth.

"We will gather CEO's and small business owners, economists⁴ and financial experts, as well as representatives from labor⁵ unions and nonprofit groups, to talk about how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again," said President Obama.

The president says people are desperately⁶ searching for work, and the government has an obligation to consider every additional responsible step possible to get them working again.

New claims for unemployment insurance fell more than expected last week, a sign the job market may be starting to recover. But Mr. Obama says too many Americans are still out of work.

"Even though we have slowed the loss of jobs, and today's report on the continued decline in unemployment claims is a hopeful sign, the economic growth that we have seen has not led to the job growth that we desperately need," said Mr. Obama.

The Labor Department says first-time claims for jobless benefits took an unexpected drop last week, to the lowest number since 2009 began, and 20 percent lower than at its peak earlier in the year. 

But PNC Financial Services senior economist³ Stuart Hoffman agrees with the president that last week's decline in applications does not yet mean substantial job growth.

"It is a movement in the right direction," said Stuart Hoffman. "It is good, but it is just not good enough yet. It is not low enough to show that businesses are creating jobs."

Also, the nation's overall unemployment rate was 10.2 percent in October, its highest level in 26 years. 

Shortly after making his comments, the president left for an eight-day trip to Asia, where the economy will be one of the main topics of his meetings with other countries' leaders. Mr. Obama says he will discuss a strategy for growth that is both balanced and broadly shared.

"It is a strategy in which Asian and Pacific markets are open to our exports, and one in which prosperity around the world is no longer as dependent on American consumption and borrowing, but rather more on American innovation and products," said President Obama.

The president will visit Japan, China, South Korea and Singapore, where a summit of 21 Asia-Pacific economies will take place.

Mr. Obama has said he will speak with Chinese officials about revaluing their currency, the yuan. He said he also plans to urge Beijing to allow more U.S. goods in its markets and encourage Chinese consumers to spend more. 

1 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 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。

4 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》

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 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。