VOA慢速英语2020 欧洲青年就业难成失落一代

Unemployment among young workers has been a problem in Europe following the 2008-2009 international financial crisis. Yet early signs show it is getting worse today with the coronavirus pandemic.

在2008-2009年国际金融危机之后，欧洲年轻员工的失业一直是个问题。然而早期迹象表明，今年随着新冠病毒大流行，情况变得越来越糟。

Dunia Skaunicova is one example of how the crisis has hurt young people. After Skaunicova completed her studies at Prague's Metropolitan¹ University, she quickly found a job at a company in the Czech capital. The 24-year-old speaks Czech, English and French.

邓尼亚·斯考尼科娃就是这次危机如何伤害年轻人的一个案例。斯考尼科娃从布拉格大都会大学毕业之后，很快就在捷克首都一家公司找到了工作。这位24岁的年轻人会说捷克语、英语和法语。

Months later, she lost her job when the pandemic hit. This time, she is having problems finding one. "I have been to five or six interviews in person during the last two months...there are so many people," said Skaunicova.

几个月之后，当大流行袭来时，她失业了。这次，她很难找到工作。斯考尼科娃表示：“过去两个月里，我参加了五六次面试。竞争者太多了。”

Dennis Tamesberger follows youth unemployment for the Chamber² of Labor³ in Linz, Austria. He believes the youth unemployment rate in the Czech Republic could go as high as 16 percent in 2020. Before the pandemic, the rate was at 5 percent.

丹尼斯·塔姆斯伯格（Dennis Tamesberger）为奥地利林茨的劳工协会调查青年失业率。他认为，2020年捷克共和国的青年失业率可能会高达16%。在大流行之前，这一比率是5%。

In May, the total European Union, or EU unemployment rate was 6.7 percent. But the unemployment rate among the under-25 age group was about 15.7 percent.

今年5月，欧盟的总失业率是6.7%。但是25岁以下年龄段的失业率约为15.7%。

Youth unemployment across Europe took years to recover from the financial crisis. In countries such as Spain and Greece, the rate of unemployment remains⁴ at 30 percent. And experts believe that number could increase to 45 percent.

欧洲各地的青年失业率耗费了数年时间才从国际金融危机中恢复。在西班牙和希腊等国家，失业率维持在30%。专家认为，这一数字可能会上升到45%。

Effect on young workers

对年轻员工的影响

Tamesberger says when people are young, even short periods of time without a job can hurt a person's long-term earnings⁵. He points to a study from the London-based Centre for Economic Policy Research. It shows that one month of unemployment at ages 18 to 20 causes income loss of 2 percent over a lifetime. The effect of youth unemployment, he warns, could last for a generation.

塔姆斯伯格表示，人们在年轻时，即使短时间失业也会损害一个人的长期收入。他提到了伦敦经济政策研究中心的一项研究。该研究表明，在18-20岁时失业一个月会导致终生收入损失约2%。他警告说，青年失业的影响可能会持续一代人。

Kathleen Henehan is with the Resolution Foundation. She told Reuters, "The ‘corona class of 2020' could face years of reduced pay and limited job prospects⁶, long after the current economic storm has passed, unless additional support is provided fast."

凯瑟琳·希内汉在决议基金会任职。她对路透社表示，“除非迅速提供额外支持，否则2020年受新冠病毒影响的阶层在当前经济风暴过去很久之后，还是会面临数年的收入下降和有限的职业前景。”

Part of the problem is that young workers in Europe are often the first to lose their jobs. In addition, parts of the economy that have been hurt by the pandemic are mostly in retail⁷ and hospitality. Those are places where young people often get their first jobs.

部分原因在于，欧洲的年轻员工是最早失业的那批人。此外，受大流行影响的经济大部分集中于零售和酒店业。年轻人通常在这些地方找到他们第一份工作。

The EU is urging governments to create jobs and training programs for young workers. In Britain, the finance minister recently announced a $2.5 billion program to create six-month work placement jobs for unemployed⁸ people between 16 and 24 years old. It also supports more government job training programs.

欧盟敦促各国政府为年轻员工创造就业岗位和开办培训项目。英国财政部长最近宣布了一项25亿美元的计划，为16到24岁的失业人员提供6个月的就业岗位。该计划还支持政府开办更多培训项目。

Those looking for jobs find that the competition is fierce. Some companies ignore job searchers. Others tell young workers not to expect much in wages or benefits.

求职者发现竞争非常激烈。一些公司无视求职者。其它公司则告诉年轻员工，对工资或福利不要抱太高期望。

Blake Wittman helps people find jobs through Goodcall. He said one company in Prague told him that as many as 50-100 people applied⁹ for a job opening. Before the pandemic, there were just 5 to 10.

布莱克·维特曼通过Goodcall帮助人们求职。他说，布拉格一家公司告诉他，有高达50-100人申请一个空缺职位。在大流行之前，只有5到10人。

"Any job that opens is gold," he said.

他说：“任何空缺职位都是香饽饽。”

I'm John Russell. 

我是约翰·罗素。

1 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

2 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

3 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。

4 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。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

7 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。

8 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

9 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。