失业是一个严重的社会问题，对个人、家庭和全社会都有很大的负面影响。那么，能不能做到人人都有工作呢？
What's full employment?
by Jay L. Zagorsky
The latest jobs report has gotten a lot of analysts, policymakers and talking heads once again asking whether the U.S. is at full employment.
analyst /ˈænəlɪst/ n. 分析师
policymaker /ˈpɒləsiˌmeɪkə(r)/ n. 政策制定者（由policy和maker组成）
talking head 在电视上高谈阔论的人（因为拍摄时大多是上半身的镜头，并且以脸部为主，所以被称为“说话的头”）
employment /ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/ n. 雇佣、就业（full employment就是完全就业）
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on May 4 that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent, which is the lowest level since December 2000. The unemployment rate includes anyone 16 or older who is actively searching for work in its calculation, which means students, retirees and others not in the labor force are excluded.
bureau /ˈbjʊərəʊ/ n. 政府机构（比如局、司、处等）
labor /ˈleɪbə(r)/ n. 劳工、劳动者
statistics /stəˈtɪstɪks/ n. 统计数字（Bureau of Labor Statistics是劳工统计局）
unemployment /ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪmənt/ n. 失业（由employment加上表示否定的前缀un-）
rate /reɪt/ n. 率、比率
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平
actively /ˈæktɪvli/ adv. 积极主动地（由active加后缀-ly变成副词）
calculation /ˌkælkjuˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 计算（由calculate加后缀-ion变成名词）
retiree /rɪˌtaɪəˈriː/ n. 退休人士
labor force 劳工大军、全体劳动者（也称为work force）
exclude /ɪkˈskluːd/ v. 排除在外
Does this mean the economy is at full employment? What is full employment anyway?
economy /ɪˈkɒnəmi/ n. 经济
To the typical person on Main Street, the idea of full employment usually means everyone in the country is working, which would imply a jobless rate of essentially zero. This has never happened. The lowest unemployment rate the U.S. ever achieved was 1.2 percent in 1944. That was during the middle of World War II, when millions of men were drafted to fight and their jobs were filled by women.
Main Street 在这里不是指某一条具体的街，而是泛指“美国式的”
imply /ɪmˈplaɪ/ v. 暗示、隐含
jobless /ˈdʒɒbləs/ adj. 没有工作的（由job加上表示否定的后缀-less并变成形容词）
essentially /ɪˈsenʃ(ə)li/ adv. 本质上、实质上（由essential加后缀-ly变成副词）
draft /drɑːft/ v. 强制某人服兵役
This popular concept sounds nice, but it misses the mark. Even in a fully employed, robust economy, there will always be a certain number of people who have given up looking for work, who are between jobs or whose skills are temporarily not needed.
concept /ˈkɒnsept/ n. 概念
miss the mark 没击中目标
robust /rəʊˈbʌst/ adj. 强劲的
temporarily /ˈtemp(ə)rer(ə)li/ adv. 暂时地（由temporary加后缀-ly变成副词）
Essentially, the idea of full employment is that so few workers are available that companies need to begin raising wages to attract help. Economists technically define full employment as any time a country has a jobless rate equal to or below what is known as the "non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment," which goes by the soporific（让人瞌睡的） acronym NAIRU.
wage /weɪdʒ/ n. 工资、周薪
economist /ɪˈkɒnəmɪst/ n. 经济学家（由economy加上表示人的后缀-ist）
technically /ˈteknɪk(ə)li/ adv. 技术上（由technical加后缀-ly变成副词）
define /dɪˈfaɪn/ v. 定义
non- 前缀，表示否定
accelerate /əkˈseləreɪt/ v. 加速
inflation /ɪnˈfleɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 通货膨胀
acronym /ˈækrənɪm/ n. 首字母缩略语
Estimates of the measure are based on the historical relationship between the unemployment rate and changes in the pace of inflation. If the unemployment rate is below this number, the economy is at full employment, businesses cannot easily find workers, and inflation and wages typically rise. If not, then there are too many workers in need of a job, and inflation remains low.
estimate /ˈestɪmət/ n. 估计
measure /ˈmeʒə(r)/ n. 测量值、数值
historical /hɪˈstɒrɪk(ə)l/ adj. 历史的、历史上的（由history加后缀-ical变成形容词）
relationship /rɪˈleɪʃ(ə)nʃɪp/ n. 关系
pace /peɪs/ n. 速度
typically /ˈtɪpɪk(ə)li/ adv. 典型地、通常（由typical加后缀-ly变成副词）
in need of 急需
Besides the impact on wages, another reason it's useful to understand the definition of full employment is because maintaining it is one of the Federal Reserve's key mandates when setting interest rates. The central bank tends to lower rates when unemployment is relatively high and raise them when it believes the economy is at full employment and wages are beginning to go up.
impact /ˈɪmpækt/ n. 显著影响
definition /ˌdefɪˈnɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 定义（由define加后缀-ition变成名词）
maintain /meɪnˈteɪn/ v. 保持、维持
federal /ˈfed(ə)r(ə)l/ adj. 联邦的（Federal Reserve是美国的中央银行）
key /kiː/ adj. 关键的
mandate /ˈmændeɪt/ n. 授权（这里指法律给予Federal Reserve的授权）
set /set/ v. 设置
interest /ˈɪntrəst/ n. 利息（interest rate就是利率）
tend /tend/ v. 倾向于
lower /ˈləʊə(r)/ v. 降低
relatively /ˈrelətɪvli/ adv. 相对地
In other words, full employment isn't when everyone has a job. Instead, it is when inflation starts to rise because businesses cannot find enough workers. While the U.S. may be technically at full employment, according to the definition, I won't be convinced until paychecks start increasing.
in other words 换句话说
convince /kənˈvɪns/ v. 说服
paycheck /ˈpeɪtʃek/ n. 工资支票（由pay和check组成；常常用来指代工资）
（如果您使用的是火狐浏览器，可能会发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，这是简书系统的Bug，换成Chrome或其他浏览器就能正常显示了。）
网友评论