VOA标准英语2014--美国增加了24.8万岗 位,失业率降至5.9%

US Economy Adds 248K Jobs, Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.9% 美国增加了24.8万岗 位,失业率降至5.9%

Friday’s closely watched report on the U.S. job market saw the economy gain 248,000 jobs in September. Combined with an upward revision of 69,000 more jobs in previous months - the nation’s unemployment rate fell to a six-year low of 5.9 percent.

Both figures were stronger than most economists¹ had predicted. But It also could encourage the U.S. central bank to raise interest rates sooner than many expected.

A burst of hiring in September helped push the U.S. unemployment rate to its lowest level since July 2008. Along with upward revisions in July and August, Chief Investment Officer Brad McMillan at Commonwealth² Financial Network says the economy is clearly moving in the right direction. He spoke³ to us on Skype.

“What you have to look at is the trend, and what we’ve seen with the exception of last month - we’ve seen over 200K [200,000] for a number of months in a row and that’s something that hasn’t happened since the 90’s,” said McMillan.

Job gains were broad based - with new hires in the construction and manufacturing sectors⁴ - and better than expected growth, 81,000 new jobs, in professional services. That’s an important distinction, according to Bankrate.com senior analyst⁵ Greg McBride - on Skype.

“Most importantly, the types of jobs that are being added this year are better quality jobs than what we had seen in each of the previous years," said McBride. "The leading category for job growth here in 2014 is professional and business services, so these tend to be higher paying jobs.”

Stagnant⁶ wage growth has been a drag on consumer spending since the recession ended. But rising wages and the steady pickup⁷ in jobs could have a downside - especially if you’re looking to get a loan.

McMillan said that’s because a rapidly-improving economy could sway the U.S. central bank into raising short-term interest rates sooner than many expected.

“I’ve been saying for a long time: I think the bias⁸ on the Fed is actually towards sooner and faster tightening⁹ than the market is taking into account, and I think those numbers [job report] make a March [2015] increase much more likely,” he said.

The Federal Reserve has slashed¹⁰ interest rates since the recession in an effort to stimulate¹¹ business spending and boost employment. But some economists say low interest rates coupled with an improving economy could fuel higher inflation, which would have the opposite effect of slowing economic growth. 

1 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》

2 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 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》

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

7 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

8 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

9 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

10 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。