<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>U.S. May Keep Losing Jobs After Unemployment Hit 25-Year High</span> II
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... 8O8agGg9AY
By Bob Willis and Rich Miller
Total Losses
Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost about 5.1 million jobs, the worst in the postwar era, Labor Department figures released yesterday in Washington showed. Some 3.3 million have been cut in the last five months, including 651,000 in February, when the jobless rate was 8.1 percent.
The job losses have been widespread, though they have been particularly large in manufacturing, construction and temporary- help services. Those three industries have accounted for nearly two-thirds of the jobs eliminated during the recession.
“In the past, businesses seemed to show a bit of caution in their payroll reductions,” said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economics in Holland, Pennsylvania, and Bloomberg’s best economic forecaster for 2008. “Now, the philosophy seems to be cut massively now and ask questions about whether too much has been done later.”
Protracted Slump
Companies in such industries as automobiles and home building may be more aggressive in paring payrolls because they don’t expect demand to recover anytime soon, said Vincent Reinhart, a former Fed official now at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
Yesterday’s report showed factory payrolls fell by 161,000 in March after dropping 169,000 in February. The decrease included a loss of 17,500 jobs in auto manufacturing and parts industries.
There were signs last week that the worst of the recession may have passed for some areas of the economy, as reports showed improvements in manufacturing and housing, the industries in steepest decline.
The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index climbed to 36.3 in March, a third consecutive increase that brought it closer to the breakeven point of 50. The number of contracts to buy existing homes in February rose 2.1 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors. Also, consumer purchases advanced for a second straight month in February, the Commerce Department said March 27.
Auto Industry
Still, the manufacturing slump that began more than a year ago may intensify should General Motors Corp. be forced into bankruptcy, economists said. As many as 1 million additional auto-industry jobs may be lost and unemployment would climb to 11 percent, said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York.
The auto slump has already rippled through the industry. Johnson Controls, a maker of car interiors and batteries, said last month it will shut 10 factories and cut about 4,000 jobs. Dana, the truck-axle manufacturer that exited bankruptcy in 2008, said it will boost its payroll reduction to 5,800 this year, 800 more than previously announced.
“We are taking the difficult actions necessary to survive,” Dana’s Chief Executive Officer John Devine said in a March 16 statement.
Service industries, which include banks, insurance companies, restaurants and retailers, cut 358,000 workers after a 366,000 decline in February. Financial firms cut payrolls by 43,000, after a 44,000 decrease the prior month. Retail payrolls decreased by 47,800 after a 50,800 drop.
In addition to cutting jobs, companies also reduced hours for those still on payrolls. The average number of hours worked fell to 33.2 per week, down six minutes from February and the lowest since records began in 1964.
To contact the reporters on this story: Bob Willis in Washington at [email protected]; Rich Miller in Washington [email protected]
Last Updated: April 4, 2009 00:01 EDT
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全面损失
美劳工部的数据显示，目前约有5，000多万工作职位被削减，是战后最糟糕的时期，仅在前五个月就有3,000多万岗位消失。此段中的lost、worst、cut、jobless词汇均为“搭配”recession。与下一自然段的widespread、eliminated一起看，可见美国当前失业率给整体经济带来的巨大影响。其中尤其以服务性行业为甚，由此可见相对较低端的服务产业往往难以在经济走势较差时得以维系，在美国这个金融服务业异常发达的国家，成于服务、亡亦服务。Naroff成功的预测了2008年的经济状况，他指出当前的裁员方式与以往不同，不再是谨慎的考虑要不要裁，而是大刀一挥，砍完后再看是否裁多了。
持续下滑
protracted意为长，但深层含义是超过可控的长，意指美国当前经济状况超过预期的糟，由于经济反弹尚无迹象，汽车业和房地产业裁员规模更大（aggressive表现出了行业裁员之狠、决），而汽车业的裁员还影响到了零配件等有关行业，汽车制造及零配件行业总计裁减岗位17,500个。本段关注词汇paring、fell、dropping、decrease、loss
improvements、climbed、consecutive increase、advanced这些词都与恢复、上升有关，在经济极不景气时，诸多指标在谷底的爬升的描述给读者带来一丝希望，尤其是increase前的consecutive，意为持续，即ISM制造业指数连续三个月攀升，已经接近（损益）平衡点，就是说制造业获利将可平衡成本，不再亏损。同时楼市签约购房数量和消费者购买都有好转迹象。
汽车业
此第一自然段首句用了虚拟，表示条件假如的是should后的一句——should GM be forced into bankruptcy，即如果通用汽车被迫倒闭，那么持续一年多的制造业领域内的衰退来势将更猛烈(intensify表示加剧、集中)，失业率将升至11%（对失业率的统计口径有变化，因此当今美国实际的萧条恐怕早已经不是上个世纪三十年代的大萧条可比，美国统计现今失业率只计领取失业保险的人数，此数据与实际因经济状况受到冲击、波及的居民数有差距）。
ripple through
ripple原指涟漪，与through连用表示滑坡已经扩散开去，扩大到了全部行业，下文引用汽车内饰商、轮轴制造商的数据表明裁员风之烈，为求生存而必须裁员。制造业外的服务业、包括金融、餐饮、保险、零售无一幸免。
reduce hours for those still on payrolls
reduce hours意为减少工作时间，此为消减员工成本的另一种方法，但无须裁员，有利于保障员工士气；on payrolls是指仍在工薪册上，即指企业付薪未解聘的员工、在职者。面对危机，企业即便不裁去相关岗位，也会减少在职员工的工作时间，以降低工资成本，相关数据是自1964年来的最低点。