美国国家公共电台 NPR--The job market was on a hot streak for much of 2022, but chilly winds are blowing

The job market was on a hot streak¹ for much of 2022, but chilly² winds are blowing

Transcript³

The Labor⁴ Department reports Friday on December's job gains. Despite some high-profile layoff⁵ announcements, the overall job market remains⁶ tight.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The U.S. job market improved at the end of the year. We've got new job numbers out this morning. So let's bring in NPR business correspondent Scott Horsley. Hey there, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁷: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: What do the numbers show you?

HORSLEY: It was another solid month of job gains in December. U.S. employers added 223,000 jobs last month. That's down just slightly from the two previous months. And the unemployment rate actually inched down to 3.5%, matching the lowest level in half a century...

INSKEEP: Wow.

HORSLEY: ...Even though more than 400,000 people came off the sidelines last month and started working or looking for work. Now, the Federal Reserve has been deliberately⁸ trying to hit the brakes by raising interest rates to curb⁹ inflation. But Dave Gilbertson, who's with the time sheet tracking company UKG, says the jobs engine just keeps chugging along.

DAVE GILBERTSON: To me, the big headline in the labor market from 2022 as a whole - it's been just a remarkable¹⁰ calm. The labor market's been this calm eye in the center of the storm.

HORSLEY: If you tally¹¹ up all of 2022, the economy added 4 1/2 million jobs, which is a really strong showing. And it was more than enough to fill in that big hole in the job market that was left when the pandemic started two years ago.

INSKEEP: Does this mean the increase in interest rates, at least so far, have hardly affected¹² the job market at all?

HORSLEY: It is having some effect, but it's definitely muted. For example, we know there's been a slowdown in the housing market, but construction companies still added 28,000 jobs last month. There has been some slowdown in the financial sector¹³, also manufacturing. Factories added 8,000 jobs last month, but that's only about a quarter of what we saw on average during last year. One place we're definitely seeing a slowdown is in temporary services, which is sometimes a bellwether¹⁴ of what might be in store in the months to come. Businesses that supply temporary workers cut 35,000 jobs last month. Businesses are definitely on the lookout¹⁵ for a possible recession on the horizon. And as a result, Gilbertson says, some employers are getting more cautious about adding workers to their payroll¹⁶.

GILBERTSON: They're kind of pumping the brakes a little bit on hiring, keeping the employees they've got because they don't want to be in a bind¹⁷ if things actually do continue. But they are starting to, again, let some air out of the tire when it comes to the amount of overtime¹⁸ that's being offered or the total number of shifts that are being offered.

HORSLEY: The Federal Reserve would actually welcome some softening¹⁹ in the job market, especially if it helps to keep a lid on wages. The central bank is concerned that rapidly rising wages could put more upward pressure on inflation. Last month, the average hourly wage was 4.6% higher than a year ago, which is a slightly smaller annual increase than we saw the month before.

INSKEEP: Wages still going up, though not as quickly as inflation, we should note. We should also note that the anecdotal evidence of job slowdowns is there - 18,000 workers to be laid off at Amazon, 7,000 jobs to be eliminated at Salesforce. What do you make of that?

HORSLEY: Yeah, those numbers grab the headlines for sure. And for those affected workers, it's obviously a big disruption. But so far, when we look at the economy as a whole, we're not seeing evidence of really widespread job cuts. New claims for unemployment benefits, which are kind of a proxy²⁰ for layoffs²¹, remain at historically low levels. Nela Richardson, who's the chief economist²² at the payroll processing company ADP, says the businesses that are cutting large numbers of workers, like Amazon, are typically companies that grew really fast over the last couple of years.

NELA RICHARDSON: These firms benefited from a pandemic economy where people were at home. They were hungry for the Internet and hungry for devices. Now we're coming to a point where consumer spending has shifted again. Tech is responding by pulling back.

HORSLEY: Other employers, though, say even if their business slows down, they're going to be reluctant to let people go because it's been such a challenge over the last couple of years to find workers.

INSKEEP: Well, that's true. Scott, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

HORSLEY: You're welcome.

INSKEEP: NPR's Scott Horsley.

1 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

2 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

9 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。

10 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

11 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 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。

14 bellwether   

n.系铃的公羊，前导，领导者，群众的首领

参考例句：

• University campuses are often the bellwether of change.大学校园往往引领变革的新潮。
• For decades the company was the bellwether of the British economy.几十年来，这家公司一直是英国经济的晴雨表。

15 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

16 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。

17 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

18 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

19 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

20 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

21 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

22 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。