職場雙語:歐洲遭遇"史上最難就業年"

When Alex Godson started his first unpaid internship in Brussels, Belgium, home of the EU’s many political institutions, he believed a full-time position was within his grasp. But it took another three years of low-paid traineeships until the master’s degree graduate in International relations from Manchester University was offered a permanent job at the European Movement International, a lobby group, in May.

當亞歷克斯•戈德森在號稱“歐盟政治機構聚集地”的比利時布魯塞爾找到自己的第一份無償實習工作時，他相信一份全職工作將指日可待。但實際上，這位曼徹斯特大學國際關係專業碩士在做了三年的低薪培訓生後，才於今年5月在遊說團體——歐洲國際行動組織謀得一份長期工作。

“When you’re just rolling from one unpaid traineeship to another, you’re not on a path to anywhere, ” Godson, who relied on his parents for financial support, told Reuters. “There’s always that intern in the office, and you’re just the person holding that position at the moment.”

“當你在無償培訓生崗位上輪換時，你彷彿無路可走，”曾身爲“啃老族”的戈德森在接受路透社採訪時說，“辦公室總是有實習職位，而你不過就是暫時獲得這個職位的人而已。”

His experience is not unique, as nearly a quarter of all under-25s, more than 19 million people, in the EU are jobless, according to the latest statistics. In Spain and Greece, which have been hardest hit by the recession, youth unemployment now exceeds 50 percent. In Sweden, under-25s account for 38 percent of those in unemployment, and they are taking to the streets in protest.

像他的這樣經歷並非罕見。根據最新發布的一組數據顯示，如今在歐盟國家，25歲以下人羣的失業率有近四分之一，失業人數超過1900萬人。在受經濟危機影響最爲嚴重的西班牙和希臘，青年失業率超過了50%。在瑞典，38%的失業人羣是25歲以下人羣，失業者紛紛走上街頭遊行抗議。

“This is a social emergency, ” Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, told The Independent. “Unless we tackle the high levels of youth unemployment now, they risk damaging the economy and society in the long term.”

“社會處於一個緊急關頭，”歐盟委員會主席若澤•曼努埃爾•巴羅佐在接受《獨立報》採訪時說，“除非我們能夠解決青年失業率居高不下這一問題，否則，從長遠來看，可能會對經濟與社會造成破壞性影響。”

With fears of a “lost generation” rising, EU leaders met last month to discuss the details of an action plan to tackle youth unemployment. They agreed to spend 6 billion euros (48 billion yuan) on creating jobs and traineeships, The Guardian reported.

據《衛報》報道稱，由於“迷惘的一代”人心惶惶，上個月，歐盟領導人舉行會晤，就解決年輕人失業問題的行動方案細節展開討論，最終達成協議，將斥資60億歐元（480億人民幣）來創造更多的就業崗位和培訓生職位。

But economists have warned that throwing money at the problem will not necessarily accelerate its resolution. Instead, they stress that the key is economic growth. “It’s not possible to create jobs in a recessionary environment - you need growth to pick up, ” Carsten Brzeski, from the international banking company ING, told Reuters.

而經濟學家卻提醒，一味地“砸錢”並不一定會加速解決問題的進程。他們強調經濟增長才是解決問題的關鍵。“在經濟衰退的環境下，無法創造就業機會——需要用經濟增長來扭轉局面。”來自國際金融公司——荷蘭國際集團的卡斯滕•布里斯基在接受路透社採訪時表示。

Europe’s young, however, are not willing to wait for a miracle to happen, they are finding other ways of dealing with their grim circumstances. Some choose to delay employment by traveling or volunteering, some look abroad for better opportunities, while others stay put and seek to change their fate.

然而，歐洲的年輕人並不願守株待兔，等待奇蹟出現；他們正在尋求其他途徑來應對低迷的就業形勢。一些人選擇去旅行或做志願者來推遲就業，一些人則放眼海外尋求更好的工作機會，而另一些人留守國內，探尋改變命運的契機。