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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Poor US Job Numbers Play Key Factor in Presidential Race
The August job numbers mark the 30th month of private-sector job growth, though just barely. Experts say the economy needs to add at least 100,000 new jobs each month just to keep up with population growth.
Economist1 Marcus Schomer at Pinebridge Investments called the latest jobs report underwhelming.
"The non-farm payroll2 number 96,000, that was quite disappointing. I was looking for a much stronger increase. In fact, my forecast was 175,000," said Schomer.
So what happened? Schomer believes the job numbers reflect growing uncertainty3 over the country's economic direction.
"It is the uncertainty over taxes, the uncertainty over spending, the uncertainty over politics, the uncertainty over Congress and I think that's exactly what's holding back business activity, business sentiment and at the end of the day, it's holding back hiring," said Schomer.
With less than nine weeks to go before Americans head to the polls, the sluggish4 job market could hurt President Barack Obama's re-election chances.
Michael K. Farr is head of an investment firm in Washington and has written several books on surviving the economic downturn. He said the latest job numbers could be problematic for the president.
"It's crucial politically, it's less crucial economically. I think, you can look back and there have been no presidents re-elected when unemployment's north of [above] 8% [since World War II], so for President Obama, this is a very tricky5 detail," said Farr.
External factors also could play an outsized role in whether companies hire workers. Farr said a downturn in Europe - the United States' largest trading partner - may hurt the president.
"Europe is a huge threat right now. The euro and the survival of the euro in what are insolvent6, sovereign economies. It's hard to call Europe a surprise, but it could be the October problem," said Farr.
The unemployment rate has remained above 8 percent since February 2009, a fact Republican presidential candidate Mitt7 Romney argues is reason for Americans to choose a new leader.
But in accepting his nomination8 for a second term, Obama asked for more time. And on Friday, he reminded Americans that his policies have added 4.6 million private-sector jobs - following the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
1 economist | |
n.经济学家,经济专家,节俭的人 | |
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2 payroll | |
n.工资表,在职人员名单,工薪总额 | |
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3 uncertainty | |
n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物 | |
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4 sluggish | |
adj.懒惰的,迟钝的,无精打采的 | |
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5 tricky | |
adj.狡猾的,奸诈的;(工作等)棘手的,微妙的 | |
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6 insolvent | |
adj.破产的,无偿还能力的 | |
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7 mitt | |
n.棒球手套,拳击手套,无指手套;vt.铐住,握手 | |
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8 nomination | |
n.提名,任命,提名权 | |
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