美国国家公共电台 NPR--The U.S. gained 263,000 jobs last month. It's good news for workers, but not the Fed

The U.S. gained 263,000 jobs last month. It's good news for workers, but not the Fed

Transcript¹

The Labor² Department' monthly job report released on Friday brought good news for workers, but likely created a Maalox moment for Federal Reserve officials trying to get inflation under control.

The report showed that hiring slowed only slightly in November, with employers adding 263,000 jobs last month, compared to 284,000 jobs in October. The unemployment rate held steady, at a low 3.7%.

The Federal Reserve has been looking for weakness in the resilient labor market, which would help slow down inflation. That, in turn, would give the central bank a reason to pull back on the throttle³ of raising interest rates. In less than a year the Fed has pushed its benchmark borrowing rate from near zero to almost 4%. Friday's strong report likely roiled⁴ many of the central bankers' stomachs.

"The labor market remains⁵ far too hot for the Fed's liking," Wells Fargo economists⁷ Sarah House and Michael Pugliese wrote in a research note.

All three major indices sank when the stock market opened on Friday, with investors⁸ fearing that the Federal Reserve would respond to the strong jobs report with even more aggressive interest rate hikes.

But the markets mostly recovered over the course of the day, and the indices ended essentially⁹ flat with where they had started, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1%. The S&P 500 fell 0.12% and the Nasdaq 0.18%. All three were up for the week, with the Nasdaq rising the most, 2.11%.

Competition for workers pushes up wages, which could stoke inflation

Competition for workers has been pushing wages up at a rapid rate, and the Federal Reserve is worried that could add to already high inflation, especially in the services sector¹⁰ where wages are one of employers' biggest costs.

Average wages in November were 5.1% higher than a year ago — a larger annual increase than the month before.

"The Fed has essentially said that they need to see a cooler job market to help reduce those inflationary pressures," Wells Fargo's House said.

The central bank has been raising interest rates aggressively in an effort to tamp¹¹ down demand and bring prices under control. The rate has seen the fastest pace of increases in decades, and it's likely to go even higher later this month.

Rising interest rates have cooled demand for workers, but Fed chairman Jerome Powell said this week there's still a long way to go.

"Demand for workers far exceeds the supply of available workers," Powell said Wednesday. "Thus, another condition that we're looking for is the restoration of balance between supply and demand in the labor market."

While the number of job openings has declined slightly, Powell noted¹² there are still about 1.7 unfilled jobs for every unemployed¹³ worker.

Construction, manufacturing added jobs in November

Ordinarily, the Fed's rate hikes would be felt most acutely in interest-sensitive industries such as construction and manufacturing. But construction companies added 20,000 jobs in November while factories added 14,000.

There are some signs of a slowdown. Home sales and construction have dropped significantly. And manufacturing activity declined in November for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a survey of factory managers released on Thursday.

"We went, what, 29 months in expansion mode, but we came down pretty quickly, primarily driven, I think, by the interest rate environment," said Tim Fiore, who oversees¹⁴ the survey for the Institute for Supply Management.

As new orders for manufactured goods declined in recent months, some factory managers stopped filling vacant jobs and others resorted to layoffs¹⁵. But overall employment in the sector has been resilient.

"I think this is still a soft contraction," Fiore said. "I'm really hopeful that some amount of demand will come back. There's still pretty robust¹⁶ production plans for 2023."

Friday's report did show some job cuts. Retailers¹⁷ shed 30,000 jobs and warehouses¹⁸ and transportation companies cut 15,000.

High-profile tech companies like Twitter have also announced job cuts, but so far there's been little sign of widespread layoffs. New claims for unemployment benefits remain at historically low levels.

"Despite a smattering of news headlines on corporate¹⁹ announcements of layoffs, the four-week moving average of initial jobless claims is still lower now than it was over the summer," said Nela Richardson, chief economist⁶ at the payroll²⁰ processing company ADP.

The number of people available to work has stayed low, and that's a problem

One reason the labor market is so tight is that while jobs rebounded²² quickly from the pandemic recession, the workforce²³ has not. The labor force actually shrank in November by 186,000 people.

Early retirements²⁴, limited immigration, and COVID-related deaths may have kept the number of available workers in check, Powell said. And there's little evidence that's going to change any time soon.

"I think what the Fed has learned is that they can't count on a rebound²¹ in labor supply," House said.

Instead, the central bank will continue to push interest rates higher, in an effort to curb²⁵ inflation and bring prices under control.

Powell acknowledged that may result in somewhat higher unemployment. But he argued the alternative of letting prices soar unchecked would be worse.

"Right now, people's wages are being eaten up by inflation," Powell said Wednesday. "If you want to have [a] sustainable, strong labor market, where real wages are going up right across the wage spectrum²⁶, especially for people at the lower end, you've got to have price stability."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

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 throttle   

n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压

参考例句：

• These government restrictions are going to throttle our trade.这些政府的限制将要扼杀我们的贸易。
• High tariffs throttle trade between countries.高的关税抑制了国与国之间的贸易。

4 roiled   

v.搅混（液体）( roil的过去式和过去分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气

参考例句：

• American society is being roiled by the controversy over homosexual marriage. 当今美国社会正被有关同性恋婚姻的争论搞得不得安宁。 来自互联网
• In the past few months, instability has roiled Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas. 在过去的几个月里，西藏和藏人居住区不稳定。 来自互联网

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 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》

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 tamp   

v.捣实，砸实

参考例句：

• Then I tamp down the soil with the back of a rake.然后我用耙子的背将土壤拍实。
• Philpott tamped a wad of tobacco into his pipe.菲尔波特往烟斗里塞了一卷碎烟叶。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 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。

14 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

15 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

16 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

17 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。

18 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

19 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

20 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

21 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。

22 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

23 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。

24 retirements   

退休( retirement的名词复数 )； 退职； 退役； 退休的实例

参考例句：

• We've had two retirements in our office this year. 今年我们办公室已有二人退休。
• Those may take the form of sackings redundancies, temporary layoffs or retirements. 这些形式有开除，作为编余人员，暂时解雇或退休。

25 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

26 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。