美国上个星期申请失业救济人数减少大约10%，达到一个多月来的最低水平。美国劳工部星期四发布报告说，美国上个星期申请失业救济人数减少4万3000 人，总数为44万人。其他报导说，美国经济过去两年来几乎每个月都失去数千个工作岗位。白宫的经济官员星期四说，美国经济今年每个月将净增9万5000个就业机会。但发布报告的总统经济顾问委员会说，新增加的就业不足以使美国的失业率从目前9.7%的水平大幅回落。
经济学家说，失业人口比率将缓慢下降，因为受到打击而放弃找工作的求职者将恢复求职之路。美国失业数据只统计那些失业但仍在继续求职的人为“失业人口”。就业人口的持续增加也将使失业率下降放慢。
The number of people signing up for unemployment compensation in the United States declined by about one-tenth last week to the lowest level in more than a month. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department says the number of Americans getting jobless benefits fell by 43,000 to a total of 440,000. Other reports say the U.S. economy has been losing thousands of jobs almost every month for the past two years. White House economic officials said Thursday that the U.S. economy will start producing a net gain of 95,000 jobs a month this year. But the report’s authors say that will not be enough to push the U.S. unemployment rate much below its current 9.7 percent.
Economists say the proportion of unemployed people will decline slowly because discouraged workers who had given up their job hunt will resume seeking work. U.S. statistics count people as “unemployed” only if they are out of work and continue to seek jobs. The decline in the unemployment rate will also be slowed by continued growth in the work force.