美国有线新闻 CNN 美国首次申请失业金人数下降 但裁员潮仍在继续

Good news, bad news for the U.S. economy. First the good. The Labor¹ Department says initial jobless claims have dropped. This is the number of Americans who are asking the government for help because they've just lost their jobs in layoffs² or business cutbacks. The latest figure for this is from last week and it's 837,000 people. How can that be good? Well it's a lower number than many economists³ expected and it's the lowest number of initial jobless claims since the coronavirus pandemic struck the U.S. economy in March.

美国经济有好消息，也有坏消息。首先来看好消息。美国劳工部表示，首次申请失业救济金人数有所下降。这是向政府求助的美国人数量，他们因裁员而失去工作，所以向政府求助。上周的最新数据显示，申请人数为83.7万人。这为何会是好消息？因为申领人数比许多经济学家预测的要低，而且这是自3月份冠状病毒疫情重创美国经济以来，首次申请失业救济金人数最低的一次。

So that's a sign. Things could be turning around. Also, consumer confidence, a measure of how Americans feel about the economy is up. The business organization that monitors this says consumer confidence jumped in September by the biggest margin⁴ since 2003. The index is still lower than it was before the pandemic, but it shows that people feel that the economy and jobs are moving in the right direction. And this can lead them to spend more money driving the economy forward.

因此，这是个信号。形势可能会好转。此外，衡量美国人对经济看法的消费者信心指数也在上升。监测这项数据的商业组织表示，9月份消费者信心指数飙升，创下2003年以来最大增幅。虽然该指数仍低于疫情前的水平，但这表明人们认为经济和就业正在朝正确的方向发展。这可以促使人们增加支出来推动经济向前发展。

Now for the bad news. The airline industry is struggling. American and United, two major players in the industry say they plan to cut a total of 32,000 jobs. Travel restrictions⁵ and concerns about coronavirus have taken their toll⁶ on the airlines.

现在来说坏消息。航空业正在苦苦挣扎。美国航空和美联航这两家主要航空公司表示，他们计划削减总共3.2万个工作岗位。旅行限制和对冠状病毒的担忧给航空公司造成了损失。

Members of Congress and the Trump⁷ Administration have been trying to work out another stimulus⁸ deal that would involve trillions more in government spending and could include $25 billion in additional assistance for airlines. If that government stimulus bill passes, airline industry executives say that some of the layoffs could be avoided. But we don't know yet if politicians will reach an agreement. The airline industry received $25 billion earlier this year in a stimulus package that passed in March.

特朗普政府的国会议员一直在努力制定另一项刺激方案，该协议将涉及政府开支增加数万亿美元，并可能包括向航空公司提供250亿美元的额外援助。航空业高管表示，如果这项政府刺激法案通过，部分裁员可以避免。但我们尚不清楚政治家是否会达成协议。今年早些时候，航空业在今年3月通过的刺激计划中获得了250亿美元的援助。

It's not the only group that's hurting. With fewer people visiting theme parks and staying at resorts, Disney says it plans to lay off 28,000 people. The U.S. Labor Department's monthly jobs report is due out today. It gives a snapshot of the unemployment rate and the number of jobs added or lost. That could give us more insight on where things stand on the economy.

航空业不是唯一受到损害的领域。由于参观主题公园和入住度假村的人数减少，迪斯尼计划裁员2.8万人。美国劳工部的月度就业报告将于今天公布。该报告会简要介绍失业率和新增或减少就业岗位数量的情况。这可以让我们更深入地了解经济现状。

1 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。

2 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

3 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》

4 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。