We start today with some not so good news about the U.S. economy. Initial jobless claims are up. What does that mean? Why does it matter? Also known as first time unemployment claims, this is a number of Americans who are asking for government assistance because they just lost their jobs in layoffs or business cutbacks. The number is recorded weekly. And the U.S. government says last week 965,000 people filed for first time unemployment benefits.
The week before that had been done by 784,000 Americans. It's not the highest level it's ever seen. When the shutdowns peaked last March and April, the government says more than 6 million people filed initial jobless claims during two back to back weeks. But when you consider that the number averaged around 200,000 weekly in 2019, you can see how last week's measurement that approached 1 million is considerably higher. One prominent economist says part of the reason for the increase was the fact that a second stimulus package was passed in late December. That probably caused more people to apply for government benefits raising the jobless claims number. Another economic indicator, the U.S. Stock Market has seen pretty steady growth since November so that's a good sign.
1. ask for 索要;請求，懇求（給予）；
Don't be too proud to ask for help.
不要放不下自尊而不求人幫忙。
2. back to back 接連地；連續地；
He scored two home runs back to back in the 9th inning.
他在第9局連續獲2分。
3. part of 一些；部分；
These buildings are part of our national heritage.
這些建築是我們民族遺產的一部分。
4. apply for 申請；請求；
You can apply for citizenship after five years' residency.
居住五年後可申請公民資格。
我們今天首先來關注有關美國經濟不太好的消息。首次申請失業救濟人數上升。這意味著什麼？為什麼重要？首次申請失業救濟也稱被為首次失業金申請，指一些美國人請求政府援助，這些人剛剛因企業裁員或業務削減而失去工作。這一數字每周都有記錄。美國政府表示，上周有96.5萬人首次申請失業救濟。
此前一周，申請人數為78.4萬人。這並不是歷史最高水平。政府表示，去年3月和4月停工停產最嚴重時，首次申請失業救濟人數連續兩周超過600萬人。但如果考慮到2019年平均每周20萬人左右的數字，你會發現上周接近100萬人的數字已經相當高了。一位著名經濟學家表示，首次申請失業救濟人數增加的部分原因是去年12月底通過了第二項刺激方案。這可能導致更多的人申請政府救濟，從而導致失業救濟申請人數增加。現在來關注另一個經濟指標，美國股市自去年11月以來一直保持穩定增長，這是一個好跡象。