US Businesses Sharply Boosting Employment

 　　The U.S. economy had a net gain of 227,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent.  Some industry experts say Friday's employment data is the latest in a series of generally upbeat economic reports showing the economy regaining¹ strength and recovering from the worst recession in decades.  But millions of people are still out of work and an economic scholar says the headline unemployment numbers mask some serious continuing problems.

　　Friday's closely-watched report from the Labor² Department shows strong job growth in February, and indicates job gains in the prior two months were stronger than first reported.  Altogether it means that U.S. job growth over the past six months is the strongest since 2006, which was before the financial crisis.

　　Surveys show the improved job situation is giving consumers more confidence that they will have jobs and makes them more likely to purchase appliances, cars or houses, which stimulates³ the economy -- and further boosts employment.  That is important because consumer demand drives about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

　　These job gains are also part of an improving economic picture that is encouraging businesses to begin hiring.

　　Growing business confidence was evident earlier this week in a survey of financial executives across the nation.  Researchers at the American Institute of Certified⁴ Public Accountants questioned more than 1,300  key financial managers, including Jim Morrison, chief financial officer of Teknor Apex⁵, a plastics company in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

　　He says businesses have been reluctant to hire new people and have instead been squeezing more productivity out of their existing workforce⁶.  "Nobody wants to be hiring before they are absolutely certain that the economic upturn⁷ is here to stay because you don’t want to hire people and then be faced with a layoff⁸ when things down turn," Morison said.

　　But Morrison says companies have already done everything they can think of to boost productivity, from spending more on computers, to asking employees to work more than their normal hours for premium⁹ pay.  He says hiring is improving because managers are becoming convinced they can not meet growing demand without a growing workforce.

　　While the outlook is improving, 12.8 million people in the U.S. are still officially counted as unemployed¹⁰.

　　An economic scholar at the American Enterprise Institute says the job situation is actually worse than the headline numbers suggest.

　　Aparna Mathur says an additional eight million want full-time¹¹ employment but can find only part-time jobs.  Another one million out-of-work people are so discouraged that they have given up seeking jobs, believing there is no work available for them.  They are not officially counted as unemployed unless they have searched for a job in the past four weeks.

　　"If you include all of those people, the marginally attached and the people who are part-time employed, you get a number like 14.9 percent today," Mathur said.

　　Mathur added that is nearly double the official jobless rate.  She says besides the problem of millions out of work or working less than they want, the current recession is keeping people out of jobs much longer than in previous recessions.

　　Four out of 10 unemployed people have been out of work for 27 weeks or longer, which hurts their chances of getting new jobs because their unused work skills deteriorate¹².  Mathur says government programs that pay part of the cost of hiring the long-term unemployed have helped manage the jobless rate in other nations.  She says Washington could also help businesses by reducing uncertainties¹³ about taxes and regulations that make them less willing to take risks on the investments that lead to job creation.

　　No matter how you help jobless people and measure the unemployment rate, the U.S. economy could encounter some problems in the next few months.  Experts cite concerns about rising gasoline prices that could reduce spending on other goods, along with slower expansion in China or a downturn in Europe that could cut demand for U.S.-made exports.

1 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

2 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。

3 stimulates   

v.刺激( stimulate的第三人称单数 )；激励；使兴奋；起兴奋作用，起刺激作用，起促进作用

参考例句：

• Exercise stimulates the body. 运动促进身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Alcohol stimulates the action of the heart. 酒刺激心脏的活动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

5 apex   

n.顶点，最高点

参考例句：

• He reached the apex of power in the early 1930s.他在三十年代初达到了权力的顶峰。
• His election to the presidency was the apex of his career.当选总统是他一生事业的顶峰。

6 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。

7 upturn   

n.情况好转

参考例句：

• Experts have forecast an upturn in the stock market.专家已预测股票市场价格有上升趋势。
• The economy is experiencing an upturn.经济正在好转。

8 layoff   

n.临时解雇，操作停止，活动停止期间，失业期

参考例句：

• Finally, prepare an explanation about what led to your layoff.最后，要准备好一套说辞来解释你被解雇的原因。
• Workers were re-employed after the layoff.在暂时解雇不久后工人们又被再度雇用了。

9 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

10 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。

11 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

12 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

13 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告