新冠疫情导致美国四成低收入劳动者失业

近日《纽约时报》用整个头版的版面等比例展示了美国近年来的失业率变化情况。曲线图显示，今年四月美国失业人数“飞流直下三千尺”，整个竖版差点放不下。美联储日前公布的调查报告也显示，受疫情影响，二月至四月美国失业率惊人，但是损失最惨重的还是低收入劳动者，失业率高达近40%。

 

 

 

Nearly 40% of lower-income Americans lost work as the coronavirus pandemic began its assault on the US economy, according to the Federal Reserve.

美国联邦储备委员会称，随着新冠疫情开始对美国经济产生影响，近40%的美国低收入者失去了工作。

 

One in 5 adults who were working in February reported being laid off or furloughed in March or early April, according to a Fed report published Thursday.

根据美联储周四（5月14日）发布的一份报告，二月份在职的成年人有五分之一在三月份或四月初被解雇或停职。

 

However, the economic downturn disproportionately affected lower-income Americans.

然而，经济低迷对低收入美国人的影响要严重得多。

 

Thirty-nine percent of people with a household income below $40,000 lost work over that period, according to the report, an annual survey of US household finances.

这份对美国家庭财务状况的年度调查报告称，这一期间家庭收入在4万美元（约合人民币28万元）以下的人有39%失业了。

 

Conversely, that was true for just 19% of Americans with a household income between $40,000 and $100,000, according to a Fed spokesperson.

美联储的一名发言人称，相反地，家庭收入在4万美元到10万美元之间的人只有19%失业了。

 

For those with an income exceeding $100,000, the disparity was even greater: Only 13% lost work.

对于那些收入在10万美元以上的人来说，差异就更明显了：只有13%的人失业了。

 

This data doesn’t capture the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs since early April.

这一数据并没有涵盖四月初以来失业的数百万美国人。

 

More than 36 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits over the past two months.

过去两个月以来，超3600万的美国人已经申请了失业救济金。

 

 

 

The unemployment rate soared to 14.7% in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the highest level since the Great Depression, when the unemployment rate is estimated to have exceeded 20%.

根据美国劳工统计局的数据，四月份的失业率飙升到了14.7%。这是自大萧条时代以来的最高水平，据估计当时的失业率超过了20%。

 

The leisure and hospitality industry, which pays the lowest average hourly wage compared with other industries, has experienced the most layoffs compared with other sectors of the economy, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

根据劳工统计局的数据，相比其他经济部门，平均时薪最低的休闲和酒店业解雇的人最多。

 

Employment loss has substantially impacted the financial well-being of families, according to the Fed.

美联储称，失业极大地影响了家庭的财务状况。

 

Among those who lost a job or had their hours reduced, 70% reported an income decline, impacting their ability to pay bills.

在那些失业或工作时间减少的人当中，70%报告称自己的收入降低，影响到了支付账单的能力。

 

Only 64% of those with a job loss or reduction in hours expected to be able to pay their bills in full in April, compared with 85% of those without an employment disruption, according to the Fed.

根据美联储的调查，失业或工作时间减少的人群中，只有64%的人预期可以全额支付四月份的账单，相比之下，没有失业的人有85%可以全额支付。