2021年经济学人 通胀“恶魔降临”,美国企业发出警报(4)

Despite a willingness to pay workers more, many firms are having trouble filling vacancies¹. Nearly half of American companies complain that they are finding it difficult to fill one or more jobs. “It is hard to tell how much it costs to hire someone because you can’t find anyone,” sighs Mr Goldman. His “help wanted” ads often go unanswered; many of those who respond fail to turn up for interviews. Given Americans’ apparent reluctance² to get back to work, whether because of continued fears of covid-19, generous unemployment insurance, or both, wages may have further to rise.

尽管许多公司愿意给员工加薪，但他们还是难以填补职位空缺。近一半的美国公司发出抱怨，他们发现很难填补一个或多个职位。“很难说雇佣一个人要花多少钱，因为你找不到任何人，”戈德曼感叹道。他的“招聘广告”经常得不到回应；很多回复的人也没有来面试。鉴于美国人显然不愿重返工作岗位，无论是因为继续担心会感染新冠、还是因为慷慨的失业保险，或者两者兼而有之，工资可能还会进一步上涨。

If inflation does prove stickier, some companies will contemplate³ shifting production to places with more plentiful⁴ and cheaper labour. All three firms advised by Mr Tayur, for example, are pondering whether and where to move, within America and farther afield. Others may want to get rid of human workers altogether. America Inc has ramped⁵ up business investment by 15% this year. Part of this is going towards automation, and not just in manufacturing. Erik Gordon of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business points to restaurant chains, some of which are installing automatic grills⁶ and developing apps that enable diners to place orders remotely rather than at the counter, which allows fewer staff to focus on making and serving food. As hotels reopen, robot floor-cleaners are becoming more common.

如果事实证明，通胀确实更加棘手，一些公司将考虑将生产转移到劳动力更充足且更廉价的地方。例如，塔尤尔提供咨询服务的这三家公司都在考虑是否以及向何处迁移，是在美国国内还是更远的地方。其他公司可能想彻底摆脱人类工人。美国公司今年增加了15%的商业投资。其中部分投资注入了自动化，而不仅仅是在制造业。密歇根大学罗斯商学院的瑞克·戈登指出连锁餐厅的现状，其中一些店正在安装自动烤架并开发使食客能够脱离柜台、远程点餐的应用程序，以此提高员工对制作食物和上餐的专注度。随着酒店重新开业，机器人地板清洁工也越来越普遍。

Many such productivity-boosting investments make good business sense even in a low-inflation world. That is the outcome which many chief executives will still be hoping for. It is certainly what policymakers are banking⁷ on. In the 1980s the Securities and Exchange Commission required companies to publish balance-sheets and income statements both in nominal⁸ terms and adjusted for inflation. This requirement has been watered down over the years. In November the markets regulator appears to have all but binned⁹ the last explicit¹⁰ vestige¹¹ of it. It would be ironic¹² if this now proved premature¹³.

即使在低通胀的世界里，许多这样提高生产率的投资也有很好的商业意义。这是许多首席执行官仍然希望看到的结果。这无疑是决策者所指望的。在20世纪80年代，美国证券交易委员会要求公司公布资产负债表和损益表，包括名义值和通货膨胀调整值。多年来，这一要求已被简化。去年11月，市场监管机构似乎已经将该要求的最后一个明显痕迹全部抹去。如果现在证明这一点为时过早，那就太讽刺了。

1 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

3 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

4 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

5 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。

6 grills   

n.烤架( grill的名词复数 )；（一盘）烤肉；格板；烧烤餐馆v.烧烤( grill的第三人称单数 )；拷问，盘问

参考例句：

• Backyard barbecue grills could be proscribed. 里弄烤肉店会被勒令停业的。 来自辞典例句
• Both side inlets have horizontal grills and incorporate impressive fog lamps. 两侧进气口的水平烤架并纳入令人印象深刻的雾灯。 来自互联网

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

9 binned   

v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mobile phones were binned to cover their tracks and cash passed aroundin Doritos packets. 他们用手机来掩饰行踪，用多力多滋的包装袋来配送现金。 来自互联网
• Such wrongly wrought proteins need to be binned before they cause substantial damage. 这些折叠出错的蛋白质在引发灾难前就需要被封存。 来自互联网

10 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

11 vestige   

n.痕迹，遗迹，残余

参考例句：

• Some upright stones in wild places are the vestige of ancient religions.荒原上一些直立的石块是古老宗教的遗迹。
• Every vestige has been swept away.一切痕迹都被一扫而光。

12 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

13 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。