“Whenmoreandmorepeoplearethrownoutofwork,unemploymentresults,”CalvinCoolidgeonceobserved.AstheU.S.economycrumbles,Coolidge’ssillymaximmightappeartobeasaptasever:thenumberofunemploymentinsuranceclaimsisrising,andoveralljoblessnessiscreepingupward.Butintoday’svastandcomplexlabormarket,thingsaren’talwayswhattheyseem.Moreandmorepeopleareindeedlosingtheirjobsbutnotnecessarilybecausetheeconomyappearstobeinrecession.Andold-fashionedunemploymentisn’ttheinevitableresultofjobloss.Newwork,atlesspay,oftenis. Callitnew-waveunemployment:structuralchangesintheeconomyareoverlappingthebusinessdownturn,givingjoblessnessagrimnewtwist.SmallwonderthattheU.S.unemploymentrateisrising.Nowat5.7percent,itiswidelyexpectedtoedgetoward7percentbytheendofnextyear.Butstatisticsalonecan’tfullycaptureacomplexreality.Theunemploymentratehasbeenhelddownbyslowgrowthinthelaborforce—thenumberofpeopleworkingorlookingforwork—sincefewpeoplesenseattractivejobopportunitiesinaweakeconomy.Inaddition,manymorepeoplearelosingtheirjobsthanareactuallyendingupunemployed.Facedwithhungrymouthstofeed,thousandsofwomen,forexample,aretakingtwoormorepart-timepositionsoragreeingtoshavethehourstheyworkinservice-sectorjobs.Forbetterandforworse,workinAmericaclearlyisn’twhatitusedtobe.Nowunemploymentisn’t,either. Likesouroldwineinnewbottles,thisdownturnblendsalittleoftheoldandthenewreflectingadecade’sworthofchangeinthedynamicU.S.economy.Yet,inmanyrespectsthedeclineisfollowingtheclassicpattern,withnewlayoffsconcentratedamongblue-collarworkersinthemost“cyclical”industries,whoseupsanddownstracktheeconomymostclosely. Asthedownturnattractsattentiononworkers’illfortunes,someanalystspredictthatpoliticalupheavalmaylieahead.RealwagesfortheaverageU.S.workerpeakedin1973andhavebeenfallingalmosteversince.Asaresult,agrowinggroupofdownwardlymobileAmericanscouldsoonbeginpressingpolicymakerstohelpproducebetter-payingjobs.Justhowloudtheoutcrybecomeswilldependpartlyonthecourseoftherecession.Butinthelongrun,there’slittledoubtthatthebleakoutlookforjobsandjoblessnessis“politically,sociallyandpsychologicallydynamite”. Thepresentdownturnissimilartotraditionalonesinthat_____.
A.we can never predict which way the economy will head
B.the economic prospects have been unfavorable for 10 years
C.the government has done relatively little to intervene the market
D.physical laborers are the chief victims of the economic decline
正确答案是D