U.S. unemployment continues to rise, with a larger-than-expected number of job cuts in June. The unemployment rate now stands at 9.5 percent, the highest in 26 years.
美国的失业率持续上升。6月份裁员情况比预期的更加糟糕，失业率从5月份的9.4%上升到了9.5%，达到26年来的最高峰。
Economists and U.S. officials had almost identical reactions to a Labor Department report that American employers cut 467,000 jobs in June.
劳工部报告说，美国雇主6月削减了46万7千个工作岗位。经济学家和美国官员对此反应几乎一样。
"This month's [unemployment] report is a setback," said Jack Albin, chief investment officer at Chicago-based Harris Private Bank.
杰克.埃布林(Jack Ablin)是总部位于芝加哥的哈里斯私人银行的投资总监。他说：“这个月的失业报告是个挫折。”
"This is certainly a setback," said Cristina Romer, who heads President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisors.
克里斯蒂娜.罗默(Christina Romer)是奥巴马总统的经济顾问委员会主席。她说：“这绝对是个挫折。”
Both Ablin and Romer appeared on Bloomberg Television.
埃布林和罗默都是在接受彭博电视采访时做出上述表示的。
Last month's job cuts total exceeded most economists' expectations by more than 100,000. But the point-one percent jump in the unemployment rate from May was more modest than had been anticipated.
上个月，实际裁员人数比大部分经济学家的预期高出10万多个。但是，失业率0.1%的升幅比预期要平稳。
June's job cuts reversed a trend of lower month-by-month loses in the U.S. economy. May saw just more than 300,000 jobs eliminated, down sharply from more than 500,000 in April.
6月的裁员逆转了美国企业裁员人数逐月减少的趋势。5月的裁员人数为30万多一些，跟4月裁员50万相比下降了不少。
Although June's total was higher than the number recorded in May, both figures are significantly lower than job-loss totals recorded at the beginning of the year - a fact Romer was quick to point out.
尽管6月裁员人数比5月份要多，但是罗默指出，5月、6月两个月的数字比年初的数字要低很多。
"Back in December, January, February and March, we were losing close to 700,000 jobs a month," Romer said. "We have seen some diminution."
她说：“回溯到去年12月、今年1月、2月和3月，那时我们每个月丧失70万个工作机会。所以说裁员数量还是减少了一些。”
But even if the U.S. economy is losing jobs at a slower pace than half a year ago, the overall unemployment picture remains bleak, according to Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.
但是，PNC金融服务集团的首席经济学家斯徒亚特.霍夫曼(Stuart Hoffman)说，即使美国企业裁员速度比半年前有所放缓，整体的失业状况还是令人感到沮丧。
"It is sort of like a bathtub," Hoffman said. "Maybe we have stopped the drain a little bit in terms of the people losing jobs. But what you really need is hiring, a faucet. And no one has turned on that faucet yet."
他说：“这就好像一个浴缸。也许我们把下水道堵上了一点，但水还在漏，也就是说，新增失业人数相对少了，但每个月还是有人失去工作。所以，你真正需要的是开始招聘，也就是把水龙头打开。但是，目前还没有人拧开水龙头。”
America's true unemployment rate may, in fact, be higher than the number provided by the Labor Department, which does not include people who searched for work in vain and have given up, or those who settled for part-time work. If both categories are added, the unemployment rate would top 16 percent, the highest number in 15 years.
美国真正的失业率也许比劳工部提供的数字还要高。劳工部没有把那些由于找不到工作而放弃求职的人和那些打零工的人算进去。如果这两类人被计算在内，那么失业率就会达到16%。
Harris Private Bank's Jack Ablin says deep recessions generate a vicious circle between job losses and reduced economic activity.
哈里斯私人银行的埃布林说，严重的衰退在失业和经济活动下降之间形成了一个恶性循环。
"We have cost-cutting [by businesses] as a result of lower profits," Ablin said. "And that cost-cutting is resulting in higher unemployment, and of course the higher unemployment is creating lack of demand. And that is where the disappointments in profits come from."
他说：“因为利润减少，我们必须降低成本。而降低成本导致失业率升高。高失业率必然导致需求减少，结果利润就更加令人失望。”
Interrupting that cycle was a primary goal of President Obama's massive economic-stimulus package, which he championed almost immediately upon entering the White House. The idea was to boost spending, thereby creating demand for products, while reducing job losses. Administration officials say funds are flowing into the U.S. economy, but real job creation may not be seen until the beginning of next year.
阻断这个恶性循环是奥巴马总统大规模经济刺激方案的主要目的。他刚入主白宫时就大力推行此方案。这个方案通过刺激消费来拉动商品需求，从而降低失业率。行政官员说，资金正在注入美国经济中。但是真正出现新的工作机会看来要等到明年初才能看到。
On a more positive note, the U.S. Commerce Department reported a 1.2 percent boost in factory orders in May, the biggest jump in nearly a year.
积极的消息是，美国商务部报告说，工厂订单在5月增加了1.2%，这是近一年来涨幅最大的一次。 |