America's 'true unemployment' rate may be a lot higher than you think美国的“真实失业率”可能比你想象的高得多
Job market outlook more complicated than it seems就业市场的前景比它看起来更复杂
For months, the labor market has been one of the few bright spots in an economy plagued by high inflation, rising interest rates and a plunging stock market. 几个月来，在受高通胀、利率上 升 和股市暴跌困扰的美国经济中，劳动力市场一直是少数亮点之一。
The Labor Department reported at the beginning of May that the economy saw solid job growth in April – despite growing headwinds – and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%, the lowest level since February 2020. Employers, meanwhile, posted a record number of 11.5 million open jobs in March. 劳工部在5月初报告说，4月份经济出现了稳固 的 就业增长——尽管逆风不断——失业率稳定在3.6%，是2020年2月以来的最低水平。同时，雇主们在3月份发布了创纪录的1,150万个空缺职位。
But the job market outlook is more complicated than that, because the headline unemployment figure is artificially depressed by excluding people who might only be earning a few dollars a week, but who want to find full-time work. It also does not encompass any workers who have stopped searching for a job because they are discouraged or caring for a child.但就业市场的前景比这更复杂，因为新闻中的失业数字是人为压低的，因为它不包括那些可能每周只赚几美元，但想找全职工作的人。它也不包括任何因为灰心丧气或照顾孩子而停止寻找工作的工人。
A large "Now Hiring" advertisement posted on the windows of the Advance Auto Parts store in Bay Shore, New York on March 24, 2022. ((Photo by Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images) / Getty Images)2022年3月24日，纽约湾岸的Advance Auto Parts商店的窗户上贴着大幅“现在招聘”广告。 ((Photo by Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
New data released on Tuesday by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity shows the "true rate of unemployment" is much higher than those government figures suggest. 路德维希共享经济繁荣研究所 (Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity)周二发布的 新数据显示，“真正的失业率”比那些政府数据显示的要高得多。
A labor market metric developed by researchers at the institute evaluates workers who they consider "functionally unemployed" – individuals who are looking for work and do not currently have a full-time job, but want one, or who do not earn a living wage, which is roughly $20,000 annually before taxes. In April, about 23.1% of the labor market was functionally unemployed.该研究所的研究人员开发了一个劳动力市场指标，对他们认为是“功能性失业”的工人进行评估——这些人正在寻找工作，目前没有一份全职工作，但想要一份工作，或者没有赚到基本生活工资（大约是每年税前20,000美元）。4月份，劳动力市场中约有23.1%的人处于功能性失业状态。
That is still in line with pre-pandemic levels: According to the Institute, which was founded by former U.S. Comptroller of the Currency Gene Ludwig, the true level of unemployment in February 2020 was about 24.5%.这仍然与疫情前的水平一致。该研究所由前美国货币货币审计长吉恩·路德维希(Gene Ludwig)创建，据该研究所称，2020年2月的真实失业率约为24.5%。
The figures are even higher for Americans of color. The true unemployment rate is about 26.5% for Black Americans and 25.7% for Hispanic Americans. By comparison, White Americans have a true unemployment rate of 22%.有色人种的美国人的数字甚至更高。美国黑人的真实失业率约为26.5%，西班牙裔美国人为25.7%。相比之下，美国白人的真实失业率为22%。
Papa John's Pizza and Anglez Hair Design on N. Wickham Rd. have multiple signs around the businesses looking for employees. (Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK / Reuters Photos)威克姆路的棒约翰披萨和安格尔兹发型设计公司在公司周围有多个招聘标志。 (Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK / Reuters Photos)
Likewise, there is a sharp contrast between genders, with women experiencing a true unemployment rate of 28.1%. Men are seeing a true unemployment rate of just 18.6%.同样，性别之间也存在着鲜明的对比，女性的真实失业率为28.1%。男性的真实失业率仅为18.6%。
The numbers suggest that despite bright numbers published by the Labor Department in the monthly jobs report, unemployment in the country is much higher than it seems.这些数字表明，尽管劳工部在每月的就业报告中公布了亮丽的数字，但美国的失业率比它看起来要高得多。