VOA标准英语2013--美国10月新增就业岗位超20.4万个

 

US Posts Solid Job Gains in October But Unemployment Rate Ticks Higher 美国10月新增就业岗位超20.4万个

U.S. job growth was better than expected last month.  Despite a partial government shutdown, the Labor¹ Department says the U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs in October  and said hiring for August and September was better than previously² thought.  Still, the unexpected burst of hiring was not enough to lower the unemployment rate. 美国 就业比上个月预期增长。美国劳工部说,尽管10月的一场美国政府“关门”闹剧曾经让许多公职人员被迫“待业在家”，但据美国劳工部最新发布的数据来看，上个月美国就业市场的总体形势 还是好的，新增岗位总计超过20.4万个。

The U.S. economy added more jobs last month than the modest 125,000 economists³ were expecting.  And job gains for August and September were also revised higher.  

But the numbers don’t tell the whole story, says Bankrate.com’s Mark Hamrick.  

He spoke⁴ to VOA via Skype.

“This one report is substantially better than expected, but it really flies in the face of a lot of other things we have been watching lately, so we really need to  see some other data that would confirm what, on balance, is a positive report," said Hamrick.

Despite solid job gains, the unemployment rate ticked higher, from 7.2 to 7.3 percent - likely because some of the 800,000 workers furloughed during the government  shutdown were counted as unemployed⁵.

Visiting the Port of New Orleans to promote export-related jobs, President Barack Obama says there’s no question the 16-day shutdown hurt the economy.

“That makes no sense.  These self-inflicted wounds don’t have to happen. They should not happen again.  We should not be injuring ourselves every few months. We  should be investing in ourselves.  We should be building, not tearing things down," said President Obama.

Although the manufacturing and construction sectors⁶ saw modest increases, Mark Hamrick says the bulk of the new hires came from lower paying jobs in the retail⁷ and  hospitality trades.

“We like jobs wherever we can get them, but we also want high quality jobs, and that wasn’t necessarily the case with this report," he said.

While the stronger job numbers came as welcome news on Wall Street, some investors⁸ wondered whether it might mean an early exit from the central bank’s low interest  rate policies.  

Hamrick says that’s not likely.  He says the bigger question is whether consumer sentiment can sustain job growth as the lucrative⁹ holiday shopping season approaches.

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 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 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。

6 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

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 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。