失业长达半年以上 就业困难

 　　If You're Unemployed¹ for More Than 6 Months, Getting a Job Becomes Really Hard

　　倘若你失业长达6个月以上，就很难再就业了

　　Lately, we tend to talk the fate of the long-term unemployed in terms of extending their unemployment benefits, partly because the machinations of Congress are easier to discuss than the vague hope that folks who've been out of work for 27 weeks or more will be able to find jobs. Worse, there's good evidence that many of them won't find work -- perhaps ever.

　　最近，我们经常从延长失业补助津贴方面来讨论长时间失业人员的命运，某种程度上是因为与失业长达27周以上的人能就业的微小希望相比，人们更容易认为这是国会的阴谋。更糟糕的是，有很好的证据表明：他们将不能再就业——或许永远都不能。

　　"At the height of the jobs crisis, 6.8 million Americans had been unemployed for more than six months," writes Ben Casselman at Five Thirty Eight. "The number is much smaller today not because the long-term unemployed, as these Americans are defined by the Labor² Department, have found jobs, but because they have given up looking for work. And 3.8 million long-term jobless in February is still three times as many as before the recession."

　　Ben Casselman在《五三八》上面写道“在就业危机最严重的时期，680万的美国人失业时间长达6个月以上。现在失业人数很少，并不像美国劳工部声称是因为长时间失业的人找到了工作，而是因为他们已经放弃找工作了。而且在二月份，380万长时间失业的人数还保持在大萧条之前的三倍。”

　　失业长达半年以上 就业困难

　　You read that right: there are technically³ fewer long-term unemployed, but only because of the people who have given up -- taking early retirement⁴, say, or resigning themselves to live on other government programs, or go off the economic grid⁵ entirely⁶ into shadow economies, doing odd jobs and other "legal hustling⁷."

　　你的理解很正确：从数据上看，长时间失业的人数很少；但这仅仅是因为人们放弃工作——或者说提早退休，或者辞职来靠政府政策生活，或者脱离经济圈进入影子经济，做临时工和其他“合法且忙碌赚钱的工作。”

　　In fact, as Casselman points out, the fate of the long-term unemployed has always been grim. Prior to 2007, only 15 percent of those who had been out of work for an extended period of time were able to find jobs in any month; short-term unemployed rejoined the workforce⁸ at twice that rate.

　　实际上，正如Casselman指出的那样，长时间失业者的命运是很糟糕的。在2007年之前，失业一段时间之后，只有15%的人每个月都能找到新的工作；30%的人在短时间失业之后可以再就业。

　　The numbers are worse from 2008 to 2011, according to a Brookings paper by Princeton economist⁹ Alan Krueger, and graduate students Judd Cramer, and David Cho. The paper showed that only 11 percent of workers unemployed 27 weeks or longer returned to work on a full-time¹⁰ basis. Twenty-four percent found part-time work, 30 percent continued to look for work, and 35 percent stopped looking altogether.

　　根据普林斯顿经济学家Alan Krueger、研究生Judd Cramer与David Cho共同发表的布罗斯金研究文件来看，2008~2011年的数据更糟糕。文件显示失业时间长达27周以上的人员，其中只有11%的人员重返全职工作岗位。24%的人找到了兼职，30%的人继续找工作，35%的人既不找兼职、也不找全职工作。

　　The real question is how to break the cycle and give workers who've been unemployed for longer a better chance at re-entering the workforce.

　　真正的问题在于如何打破这种循环，并给与长时间失业者一个更好的再就业机会。

　　"Overcoming the obstacles that prevent many of the long-term unemployed from finding gainful employment, even in good times, will likely require a concerted effort by policy makers¹¹, social organizations, communities and families, in addition to appropriate monetary¹² policy," Krueger and his co-authors write.

　　Krueger与其合作者写道“即使在繁荣时期，克服那些阻碍长时间失业者找到赚钱的工作的绊脚石，也很可能会需要决策者、社会组织、社会团体、家庭以及恰当的货币政策的共同协作。”

　　In short, just restoring benefits won't be enough. We'll also have to change how employers and citizens think about the long-term unemployed.

　　简而言之，只是恢复津贴补助是不够的。我们还需要改变用人单位与市民对长时间失业者的看法。

　　Tell Us What You Think

　　告诉我们你的看法

　　Did you find a job after long-term unemployment?

　　长时间失业之后，你找到工作了吗？

1 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。

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 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

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 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 hustling   

催促（hustle的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Our quartet was out hustling and we knew we stood good to take in a lot of change before the night was over. 我们的四重奏是明显地卖座的， 而且我们知道在天亮以前，我们有把握收入一大笔钱。
• Men in motors were hustling to pass one another in the hustling traffic. 开汽车的人在繁忙的交通中急急忙忙地互相超车。

8 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。

9 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。

10 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

11 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。