VOA标准英语2010年-US Economy Has Biggest Job Growth In F

The U.S. economy created 290,000 jobs in April, the most in any month in the past four years.  U.S. President Barack Obama says the Labor¹ Department's latest employment numbers are an encouraging sign.  

President Obama says the U.S. economy has come a very long way since he took office early last year.

"We now know that the economy has been growing for the better part of a year, and this steady growth is starting to give businesses the confidence to expand and to hire new people," said President Obama.

While April was the fourth straight month that the economy has had a net gain in jobs, the unemployment rate edged up to 9.9 percent, from 9.7 percent in March.

The Labor Department says more than 800,000 people who had given up looking for work are trying again, and Mr. Obama says that is also a good sign.

"Given the strength of these job numbers, this may seem contradictory², but this increase is largely a reflection of the fact that workers who had dropped out of the workforce³ entirely⁴ are now seeking jobs again, encouraged by better prospects," said Mr. Obama.

Opposition⁵ Republicans blame the Obama administration for an unemployment rate they say is unacceptably high.  A statement from Republican Congressman⁶ Mike Pence says the Democrats⁷' "policies of taxing, spending and bailouts are having a chilling effect on job creators across the country."

15.3 million Americans were unemployed⁸ in April.  The president acknowledges that putting them back to work will take time.

"Over the course of this recession, more than 8 million jobs were lost," said the president. "So there are a lot of people out there who are still experiencing real hardship.  We have got to be mindful that today's job numbers, while welcome, leave us with a lot of work to do.  It is going to take time to achieve the strong and sustained job growth that is necessary."

Analysts⁹ do not expect hiring to increase enough in the coming months to bring the jobless rate down significantly.

But the experts say the high number of jobs added last month shows that businesses are feeling more confident in the U.S. economic recovery. 

Factory production increased in April at the fastest pace in almost six years, and consumer spending was up in March by the largest amount in five months.
 

1 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。

2 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。