奧巴馬:3月的失業數字是個好消息

The U.S. unemployment rate dipped in March to its lowest level in two years, and President Barack Obama hailed the "good news."

美國3月份失業率下降到兩年來的最低水平。美國總統奧巴馬稱讚說，這是“好消息”。

The Labor Department says 8.8 percent of the U.S. work force was unemployed in March. That is one-tenth of a percent lower than in February, and a full point below its level in November.

美國勞工部說，美國3月份失業率爲8.8%,比2月份下降0.1個百分點，與去年11月相比，整整下降了一個百分點。

President Obama said Friday the economy is making strong gains in creating jobs. "Our economy is showing signs of real strength. Today, we learned that we added 230,000 private sector jobs last month. And that is good news," he said.

奧巴馬星期五說，美國經濟在創造就業方面正取得強勁增長。他說：“我們的經濟折正顯示出真正的增長力量。今天，我們得知私營部門上個月增加了23萬個就業崗位。 這是好消息。”

At a parcel shipping company near Washington, Mr. Obama said the new, lower jobless numbers are an encouraging sign that an economic recovery is under way.

在華盛頓一個包裹投遞公司，奧巴馬說，新出臺的有關失業率下降的數據是令人鼓舞的信號，顯示經濟復甦正在進行。

"That makes 1.8 million private sector jobs created in the last 13 months," he said. "And the unemployment rate has now fallen a full point in the last four months. And the last time that happened was during the recovery in 1984."

他說：“過去13個月，私營部門共創造了180萬個就業機會。過去四個月，失業率下降了整整一個百分點。這樣的情況在1984年復甦的時候纔出現過。”

The president acknowledged that millions of Americans are still looking for jobs, and he pledged to work harder to restore the jobs lost in the recession.

奧巴馬總統承認，仍然有數百萬的美國人在尋找工作。他承諾將進一步努力，恢復在衰退中失去的就業機會。

Mr. Obama said his campaign to reduce America’s dependence on imported oil will help to continue the momentum of the economic recovery, partially by creating jobs in the clean-energy economy.

奧巴馬說，他認爲減少美國對進口原油的依賴所做的努力將會有助於經濟復甦勢頭的繼續，這主要是通過創造清潔能源經濟行業的工作。

On Wednesday, the president announced his energy policy, including efforts to cut U.S. oil imports by one-third by 2025.

星期三，奧巴馬總統宣佈了他的能源政策，其中包括在2025年把美國原油進口削減三分之一的措施。

The president called Friday for the U.S. government’s fleet of more than 600,000 vehicles to consist entirely of fuel-efficient cars and trucks within the next few years.

奧巴馬星期五還要求政府各部門在今後幾年內把60多萬輛公車全部換成節能型車輛。

"We have already doubled the number of federal cars and trucks that are hybrids, and I am directing our departments and agencies to make sure 100 percent of the vehicles they buy are fuel-efficient or clean-energy cars or trucks by 2015," he said.

他說：“我們已經把聯邦政府使用的混合動力型轎車和卡車的數量增加了一倍。我要求所有的部委在2025年之前做到它們購買的車要全部都是使用節能燃料和清潔能源的汽車。”

Mr. Obama announced a program in which the government will assist corporations which replace their gasoline-powered vehicles with those that run on alternative energy sources.

奧巴馬還宣佈一個計劃，就是政府要給那些把汽油車輛更換成替代能源車輛的公司提供幫助。

The president also said he is encouraged by the progress of budget talks between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

奧巴馬總統還表示，他對國會民主黨和共和黨在預算討論中取得進展感到高興。

Despite warnings about a possible government shutdown if an agreement is not reached, Mr. Obama said the leaders of both parties agreed on how much spending should be cut. He said details remain to be worked out, but a compromise is within reach.

先前有消息說，如果兩黨不能達成一致，政府就有可能被迫停止辦公。奧巴馬錶示，兩黨領袖已經就政府開支削減幅度達成一致看法。雖然具體細節還有待斟酌，但離達成妥協已經不遠了。