2020年经济学人 熊彼特企业管理专栏--疫情造成的欧美失业潮(2)

In the current crisis it may seem fair to ask American firms to take a more European approach. After all, business activity has collapsed¹ not because of slothful work habits, but because governments have ordered people to stay at home. This is not a slump² that needs to be fixed³ with an orgy of creative destruction in the jobs market. And however deep the downturn, the rebound⁴ could be relatively⁵ quick. If so, it makes sense for companies and employees to maintain ties, so that production can resume briskly when things improve.

在当前的危机中，要求美国公司采取更加欧洲化的做法似乎是合理的。毕竟，商业活动的崩溃不是因为懒惰的工作习惯，而是因为政府下达指示让人们呆在家里。这不是一场需要通过就业市场上创造性破坏的狂欢来修复的衰退。不管经济下滑的程度有多深，反弹的速度都可能相对较快。如果是这样，公司和员工保持联系是有意义的，这样当疫情过去时，生产就可以迅速恢复。

Yet one feature of this crisis in fact makes it all the more important to maintain flexible labour practices: the jobs market has bifurcated⁶. In industries that bring people together, such as hotels, airlines, casinos and restaurants, demand for workers has collapsed. Those that provide access to health care (such as hospitals), staples⁷ (supermarkets) or services catering⁸ to those stuck at home (e-commerce) are clamouring for more staff. For all the merits of Europe’s labour-support programmes, the risk is that they last too long and dissuade⁹ workers from switching to industries where their help is badly needed.

然而，这场危机的一个特点实际上使保持灵活的劳工做法变得更加重要：就业市场已经分化。在酒店、航空、赌场和餐馆等将人们聚集在一起的行业，对工人的需求大幅下降。那些提供卫生保健的机构(如医院)、主要食品(超市)或被困在家里的人所需的服务(如电子商务)的公司，则迫切需要更多的员工。尽管欧洲的劳工支持计划有诸多优点，但其风险在于，这些计划持续时间过长，而且会阻止工人们转投那些急需他们帮助的行业。

Already the response of American firms to the jobs crisis is taking an unfamiliar¹⁰ route. Though many of the small businesses that provide about half of private-sector employment in America were quickly forced to let workers go to survive, the government has stepped in to ease the pain. Its $2trn support programme has temporarily increased unemployment benefits. A $350bn lifeline to small businesses within the stimulus¹¹ package encourages them to cling on to staff if they can.

美国公司对就业危机的反应已经走上了一条陌生的道路。尽管为美国提供了约一半私营部门就业机会的许多小企业很快被迫让工人离开，但政府已经介入，缓解了痛苦。其2万亿美元的支持计划暂时增加了失业救济金。刺激计划中针对小企业的3500亿美元的生命线，鼓励小企业尽可能留住员工。

Some bigger American firms, such as Hilton, its rivals like Hyatt and Marriott, and retailers¹² such as Macy’s and Gap, are taking a different tack¹³. Instead of sacking staff, they have announced that tens of thousands of their employees will be furloughed, which in America means being put on unpaid¹⁴ leave. Crucially, the furloughed workers get to keep their company health insurance. They can also, in most cases, claim unemployment benefits. To ease resentments¹⁵, those who remain in work, including executives, will suffer pay cuts.

一些更大的美国公司，如希尔顿，其竞争对手如凯悦和万豪，以及零售商如梅西百货和盖普，正在采取不同的策略。他们没有解雇员工，而是宣布数万名员工将被迫休假，这在美国意味着无薪休假。至关重要的是，被解雇的员工可以继续享受公司的医疗保险。在大多数情况下，他们还可以申请失业救济。为了缓解不满情绪，那些仍在工作的人，包括高管，将遭受减薪。

1 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

2 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 bifurcated   

a.分为两部分

参考例句：

• Over the past 15 years the marketplace for art books has bifurcated. 过去15年里，卖艺术类书籍的市场逐渐分化。
• This bifurcated view was reflected in how U.S. officials described the trip. 这种一分为二的观点也反映在美国官员自己对访华之行的描述上。

7 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

8 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

9 dissuade   

v.劝阻，阻止

参考例句：

• You'd better dissuade him from doing that.你最好劝阻他别那样干。
• I tried to dissuade her from investing her money in stocks and shares.我曾设法劝她不要投资于股票交易。

10 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

11 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

12 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

13 tack   

n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝

参考例句：

• He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture.他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
• We are going to tack the map on the wall.我们打算把这张地图钉在墙上。

14 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

15 resentments   

（因受虐待而）愤恨，不满，怨恨( resentment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He could never transcend his resentments and his complexes. 他从来不能把他的怨恨和感情上的症结置之度外。
• These local resentments burst into open revolt. 地方性反感变成公开暴动。