VOA标准英语2009年-American Workforce Getting Older, Working

By Steve Mort
Orlando, Florida
28 October 2009

The American workforce¹ is getting grayer. And the U.S. Bureau of Labor² Statistics predicts that the number of workers between 65 and 74 years old will grow by more than 80 percent between 2006 and 2016. Economic hard-times are causing members of the so-called 'baby-boomer' generation to postpone³ their retirement⁴ plans.

 
Joan Hansen
At 70-years-old, Joan Hansen is still working. Born in 1938, Hansen could have retired⁵ with full government benefits at 65. But she admits being nervous about quitting her job as head a small, non-profit organization.

"When you think about no longer receiving your salary and wanting to still have a nice lifestyle, it does become a little bit scary," Hansen said.
 
Hansen's daughter died several years ago. She says she keeps working to make enough money to raise her 14-year-old granddaughter. "I do have a lot of expenses," she says, "so with the economy the way it is, you're just a little bit fearful of breaking off and trying to start a new life."

So that she can stay on the job, Hansen keeps healthy by exercising.

A Pew Research Center study finds that 40 percent of Americans, like Hansen, work past the median retirement age because of economic conditions.

 
Sean Snaith
Economist⁶ Sean Snaith says seniors are hard hit by declines in home equity⁷ and retirement funds. "A lot of both retirees and near retirees, of course, saw their nest eggs cut in half," she explains, "and in and of itself that, I think, prompted a lot of people to say, 'You know, I can't retire now because I just don't have enough saved up.'"

While officials forecast a growing number of older workers, they predict a decline in employment among people under 24.

"For people that are trying to find jobs, older workers that are staying on the job much later in life are effectively locking up those slots," Snaith said.

The U.S. Census⁸ Bureau says a desire for more retirement savings⁹, an increase in life expectancy¹⁰ and the high cost of health care all contribute to the increasing age of America's workforce. Like many Americas, Joan Hansen says she does not yet know when she will retire, but she expects to continue working for the foreseeable future.

1 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

2 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。

3 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 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。

7 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

8 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

9 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

10 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。