VOA标准英语2-14--Online Job Postings Seeing Rapid Growth

 

Online Job Postings Seeing Rapid Growth

Applications for unemployment benefits jumped in the United States to a seasonally-adjusted 329,000 last week, up 24,000 from the week before.  Unemployment is still high at 6.7 percent.  But for job seekers, especially those with college educations, researchers at a prominent University in Washington say finding a job can be as easy as logging on to a computer.

It used to be that looking for a job meant pounding the pavement, knocking on doors and poring over help-wanted ads.  But that’s changing, thanks to the Internet.   A new report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce¹ says, for college graduates, looking for a job is getting easier.

The report’s lead author, Tony Carnevale, spoke² to VOA, appropriately enough online, via Skype.

“More than 80 percent of those jobs that existed, at any point in time, are available online," said Carnevale.

At the height of the recession - when U.S. unemployment peaked at 10 percent, just a little more than two million jobs were being posted each month.  But as the recovery takes hold, Carnevale says the job picture looks increasingly bright.

“We’re now at about 3.7 million job openings out there.  By the time the recovery is done, we think we’ll get to maybe five million job openings online," he said.

That’s great news for Georgetown Junior Jamil Hamilton.  Only once has he ever applied³ in person for a job at a shopping mall.   

“I think my generation - the idea of going door to door, out knocking and saying, hey are you hiring? - like that - doesn’t exist anymore...those days are gone, just go online," said Hamilton.

Kim Dancy recently graduated with a Masters degree in Public Policy.  She found her dream job as an education policy researcher.   But she says finding the perfect job online takes a lot of perseverance⁴.

“It can be really frustrating⁵ and it takes a long time, but if you applied for enough positions and really do your homework you will get somewhere," said Dancy.

The report’s findings suggest careers in the so-called STEM fields - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math - provide the greatest opportunities, with salaries that range between $30 to $45 an hour.  But for maximum income and satisfaction, Professor Carnevale says workers must be prepared to move and change jobs at least every five years.

1 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。

2 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。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

5 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》