英譯中：America's labour shortage

(中央警察大學 107 學年度碩士班入學考試試題)

President Trump makes no secret of his distaste for immigrants, nor of his support for measures to slash both legal and illegal immigration. Even as his crusade to close borders intensifies, however, American employers in an array of industries — manufacturing, agriculture, trucking, home building, energy, food service, retail and others — are warning that a long-brewing labour shortage is reaching crisis proportions. The causes of America’s worker shortfall include an aging population and a birthrate that recently hit a historic low. With the jobless rate bumping along at just above 4 percent, companies desperate to fill orders and meet demand are pumping up their recruiting budgets and in some cases turning to ex-convicts to fill jobs. If the employee deficit seems bad now, signs indicate it will get worse — even as Mr. Trump orders stepped-up deportation efforts and pushes legislation to slash annual legal immigration, currently about 1 million, by half.

美國總統川普從不掩飾自己對移民的厭惡，這點也表現在他支持削減合法與非法移民的作法上。就在他關閉邊境的運動愈演愈烈之際，製造業、農業、卡車運輸業、房屋建築業，能源業、食品服務與零售業等行業的美國雇主們卻警告說，低迷已久的勞動力短缺會引發更大的危機。人口高齡化、出生率創下歷史新低，都是造成美國勞動力斷層的原因。美國失業率攀升到百分之四，企業紛紛增加員工招募的預算，以完成訂單與滿足需求，有些企業甚至想找更生人填補空缺。倘若川普總統加強驅逐力道，並推動立法將現下約每年一百萬的合法移民減半，眼下勞力赤字已經捉襟見肘的情況將會更糟。

(Coutesy: malias / Flickr)