经济学家选读讲义.doc

经济学家文章摘录 （2011年） The long-term unemployed 长期失业者 The ravages of time 时光似箭,日月如梭 An intractable problem is getting worse 难以应对的问题，越变越糟的时局 Oct 1st 2011 | from the print edition AMERICA’S great labour market slump continues to cast its pall over the economy, leaving one lonely group in particular shrouded in shadows. Over 6m Americans, more than 40% of all those unemployed, have now been out of work for more than six months. Most of these, 4.5m, haven’t worked for a year or more. This crisis of long-term joblessness is unprecedented in the post-war period. 美国劳动力市场大幅持续下挫，阴沉的气氛牢牢地笼罩着美国经济。而在这阴云密布下的阴暗处,一群人的身影显得格外孤寂。超过六百万美国人中有百分之四十多都是失业者，他们失业的时间已经超过了半年。而这六百万人中的大部分，约四百五十万人，失业时间达到了一年,甚至更长。自二战结束后，如此的长期就业危机是前所未有。 Lacklustre growth is the main problem. The pace of new hiring crashed during the recession and has scarcely recovered since. Although America’s unemployment rate is down a percentage point from its peak, this is little cause for cheer. Workers are escaping unemployment more slowly than at any time since 1948. The long-term unemployed are struggling most; in the year to June, the newly jobless were three times more likely to find new work in a given month than the long-term unemployed. Many of the latter have given up hope. For the first time in decades, jobless workers are more likely to drop out of the labour force (and cease to be counted as unemployed) than to get a job (see chart). Bit by bit, a large mass of American workers is losing touch with the labour market. 乏力的经济增长是制约再就业的主要问题。雇佣新职工的步伐在经济衰退期停滞不前，自此就再没什么起色。尽管现在美国的失业率与顶峰期相比下降了一个百分点，但如此微小的进步根本不值得欢庆。员工们陷入失业的泥潭却无法自拔，时间如此之长，还是自 1948年起的头一次。长期失业者奋力挣扎；在今年六月，长期失业者比在当月被辞退的人相比，就业机会要少三倍多。大量长期失业者已放弃了找到工作的希望。进入新世纪以来，头一次失业者因找不到工作而可能远离劳动力市场（并被算为无业者）。慢慢地，一大部分美国职工将于劳动力市场脱轨。（详见图表） One might expect unemployment to carry less stigma after a deep recession—bad times, rather than personal shortcoming, being the more likely reason for a sacking. Yet a worker’s lifetime earnings are hurt more by a job loss in a weak