VOA标准英语2009年-More Job Losses Cloud US Employment Pictur

U.S. unemployment continues to rise, with a larger-than-expected number of job cuts in June. The unemployment rate now stands at 9.5 percent, the highest in 26 years.
　
Unemployed¹ worker (L) talks with Employment Guide staffer at job fair in San Jose, California 20 Jun 2009

Economists³ and U.S. officials had almost identical reactions to a Labor⁴ Department report that American employers cut 467,000 jobs in June.

"This month's [unemployment] report is a setback," said Jack⁵ Albin, chief investment officer at Chicago-based Harris Private Bank.

"This is certainly a setback," said Cristina Romer, who heads President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisors⁶.

Both Ablin and Romer appeared on Bloomberg Television.

Last month's job cuts total exceeded most economists' expectations by more than 100,000. But the point-one percent jump in the unemployment rate from May was more modest than had been anticipated.

June's job cuts reversed a trend of lower month-by-month loses in the U.S. economy. May saw just more than 300,000 jobs eliminated, down sharply from more than 500,000 in April.

Although June's total was higher than the number recorded in May, both figures are significantly lower than job-loss totals recorded at the beginning of the year - a fact Romer was quick to point out.

"Back in December, January, February and March, we were losing close to 700,000 jobs a month," Romer said. "We have seen some diminution⁷."

But even if the U.S. economy is losing jobs at a slower pace than half a year ago, the overall unemployment picture remains⁸ bleak⁹, according to Stuart Hoffman, chief economist² at PNC Financial Services Group.

"It is sort of like a bathtub," Hoffman said. "Maybe we have stopped the drain a little bit in terms of the people losing jobs. But what you really need is hiring, a faucet¹⁰. And no one has turned on that faucet yet."

America's true unemployment rate may, in fact, be higher than the number provided by the Labor Department, which does not include people who searched for work in vain and have given up, or those who settled for part-time work. If both categories are added, the unemployment rate would top 16 percent, the highest number in 15 years.

Harris Private Bank's Jack Ablin says deep recessions generate a vicious circle between job losses and reduced economic activity.

"We have cost-cutting [by businesses] as a result of lower profits," Ablin said. "And that cost-cutting is resulting in higher unemployment, and of course the higher unemployment is creating lack of demand. And that is where the disappointments in profits come from."

Interrupting that cycle was a primary goal of President Obama's massive economic-stimulus package, which he championed almost immediately upon entering the White House. The idea was to boost spending, thereby¹¹ creating demand for products, while reducing job losses. Administration officials say funds are flowing into the U.S. economy, but real job creation may not be seen until the beginning of next year.

On a more positive note, the U.S. Commerce Department reported a 1.2 percent boost in factory orders in May, the biggest jump in nearly a year.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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》

4 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。

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

6 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

7 diminution   

n.减少；变小

参考例句：

• They hope for a small diminution in taxes.他们希望捐税能稍有减少。
• He experienced no diminution of his physical strength.他并未感觉体力衰落。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

10 faucet   

n.水龙头

参考例句：

• The faucet has developed a drip.那个水龙头已经开始滴水了。
• She turned off the faucet and dried her hands.她关掉水龙头，把手擦干。

11 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。