美国国家公共电台 NPR--As economy cools, scattered layoffs put an end to dream jobs for some workers

As economy cools, scattered¹ layoffs³ put an end to dream jobs for some workers

Transcript⁴

After a period of incredible job growth, many economists⁶ are calling it a cooling off.

It started last winter — in February — with Peloton. The home fitness company whose stock price more than quadrupled in the pandemic, announced it was cutting 2,800 jobs.

Since then, there have been more layoff² announcements from other high-flyers such as Coinbase, Netflix, Tesla and more.

"I think a helpful way to think about what is happening in the labor⁷ market right now is that we're seeing some of that frothiness abate," says AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist⁵ with the Indeed Hiring Lab.

It's little consolation⁸ for the worker whose job is lost.

A new job opened the door to the corporate⁹ world

Last October, a week before Tanisha Bates started a new job, she decided¹⁰ to spruce up her home office. She tore out the carpet and put in new floors, painted the walls, and even set up a coffee bar.

"I'm going to be working from home, so I need it to be my happy, my Zen zone," Bates recalls thinking at the time.

She'd worked a couple of administrative¹¹ jobs in schools and before that, in retail¹². But she'd had her eye on the corporate world where she knew the money would be better and the work more fulfilling.

Sure enough, in 2021, a great opportunity surfaced with Stitch Fix. The online personal styling company was looking for recruiting coordinators to diversify¹³ its team of stylists.

The job was everything she'd hoped for. She got to work on an initiative she believed in — helping¹⁴ Stitch Fix to build a more diverse workforce¹⁵. Also, the pay was great, and she could work from home.

"I felt like I finally had this perfect work-life balance," says Bates.

Layoffs came suddenly but were not entirely¹⁶ a surprise

It all came to abrupt¹⁷ end on June 9. Bates was among the 330 people Stitch Fix laid off, citing a drop in membership and an uncertain economic environment.

It wasn't entirely a surprise. A few months earlier, Stitch Fix's leadership had told its employees that things weren't going so well. Bates had taken note of the the layoffs happening at Peloton and elsewhere.

"I knew it had to happen," says Bates. "It just felt super defeating."

Konkel points out that while job postings in fields such as human resources and software development are down in recent months, they remain elevated, well above where they were before the pandemic.

"My hope is that for these individuals who have been laid off... hopefully they can capitalize on the strength of the labor market," says Konkel.

There were 11.3 million job openings in the U.S. at the end of May, according to the Labor Department, down from a record high set in March of 11.9 million.

A recent grad sees job rescinded¹⁸ before he even starts

In Chicago, Andrés Crucetta is hoping the strong labor market proves fruitful, again.

Crucetta had just finished up his master's degree in computer science and public policy in Chicago and was about to head out to San Francisco for a job with a tech startup when he got an email from the head of engineering.

Crucetta read the word "update" and knew immediately something was up.

"It's almost like when you get a text for a breakup and you're like, 'Oh, here we go. She wants to go for a walk,'" he says.

It had only been about a month since Crucetta had accepted the job. But in this economy, things change quickly. Five days before he was to start, he was informed that the company had implemented¹⁹ a hiring freeze.

He cried for a little bit and then got to work undoing²⁰ his plans. He had an airplane ticket and a sublease in San Francisco that needed to be canceled. He had to quickly find temporary housing in Chicago while he resumed his job search.

As an international student from Venezuela, Crucetta has 90 days from graduation to figure something out.

"I'm very hopeful," he says. "I think it's just a matter of going through the process again."

Searching for a job feels different in summer 2022

Bates, who is also back on the job hunt, says things feel different from last fall. Hiring managers seem less engaged. Finding talent seems to be on the backburner, she says.

She has put in more than 70 job applications and thinks she may have to start considering in-person positions, leaving her beloved home office and that perfect work-life balance behind.

"Remote jobs are so competitive, because everybody from across the U.S. is applying. It's like going up against the masses," she says.

1 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

2 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。

3 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

4 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。

5 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。

6 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》

7 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。

8 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

9 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。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

12 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

13 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 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。

16 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

17 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

18 rescinded   

v.废除，取消( rescind的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Rescinded civil acts shall be null and void from the very beginning. 被撤销的民事行为从行为开始起无效。 来自互联网
• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan. 他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。 来自互联网

19 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

20 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。