美国有线新闻 CNN 2014-02-24

 Economies of the world are tied together. A boom or bust¹ in one world capital can affect the economies of others. Easy concept. But predicting what the global economy will do is like predicting the future. One article I read yesterday said the global economy is weak. Another  says it is on the up and up. One thing economists² look at when making prediction is unemployment. 

Japan’s unemployment rate fell at 3.7% in December, a six year low. While the availability of jobs approve is a 6 year high. So well, that is good news. The number of contract workers were paid less than regular staff is still at a record high.  And this week Japan released GDP figures which pointed³ to a slower economy due to that reports and a concern over job security and wages. Now that fear seems to be holding back consumer spending before a rise in the national sales pack in April makes goods much more expensive. Prime Minister Abby has pressed large companies like Toyota to raise wages. It is not very clear that smaller companies will be able to follow suit. 

In Middle East and north Africa wage have a dubious⁴ manner, having the highest youth unemployment rate in the world. The situation is most acute in the countries of the Arab spring. In North Africa, youth unemployment rate is 29%. I think if Arab spring has indeed to a certain degree locked  out or slow down the development of the private sector⁵, because it slow down the attracting investments coming into the Egypt.

UK unemployment rate peaked at 8.4% in 2012, right at the highest level the country’s double digit⁶. As soon as it tumbled rapidly towards a 7%, a figure deemed significant by the Bank of England. But even that number is more than 2 % higher than previous session levels. But the creation of new jobs did not keep pace with the number of people entering the labor⁷ market, meaning the rate of unemployment rate actually rose from 7.1% to 7.2%.

The last 2 unemployment reports out of US were big disappointments. December only showed a gain of 75000 jobs. January only showed a gain of 113000 jobs. But analysts⁸ are cautioning not to read too much into these numbers because it is believed that the severe weather across the US really kept people from job hunting, kept employers from hiring. It won’t be surprising when numbers in February is impacted as well as eastern part of the country was pondered by snow and ice. 

1 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

2 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》

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

5 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。

6 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。

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 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。