單週翻倍660萬人
An unprecedented number of Americans applied for unemployment benefits as coronavirus measures took hold.
受新冠肺炎防疫措施的影響，美國申請失業救濟的人數創下前所未見的新高。
unprecedented(adj.)史無前例的;空前的apply for~申請unemployment benefits 失業救濟金=jobless claimsbenefit(n.)利益;好處;優勢、(政府)補助金;救濟金take hold站穩腳跟，紮根，產生影響
The number of Americans filing initial applications for unemployment benefits during the week which ended on March 28 soared to 6.65 million. That is more than double the previous record of 3.31 million in the prior week. By way of comparison, in the worst single week after the financial crisis of 2008, jobless claims stood at 665,000.
到3月28日為止的一週，美國首次申請失業救濟的人數飆升到665萬人，是前一週創紀錄高點331萬人的兩倍多。相較之下，在2008年金融危機爆發後最糟的一週，首次申請失業救濟人數為66.5萬人。
filing…=who filed…申請file(n.)文件;檔案(v.)提出訴訟或請求file a claim提出索賠soar(v.)暴增;大幅增加prior week 前一週prior(adj.)在前面的;先前的prior to something 在…之前
The weekly jobless claims report offered the most vivid evidence yet of the coronavirus’ devastating impact on the economy, which has forced the Federal Reserve to take extraordinary steps and the U.S. Congress to put together a record $2 trillion stimulus package.
每週的初請失業金人數報告提供了目前最鮮明的證據，顯示新冠肺炎對經濟毀滅性的衝擊，迫使聯準會採取非常措施，美國國會也制定出創紀錄的2兆美元經濟刺激計畫。
vivid(adj.)栩栩如生的;鮮活的;生動的devastating(adj.)毀滅性的;破壞性極大的put together整理出、拼湊、設計、創造、制訂(協議計畫或產品)(economic) stimulus package(經濟)振興方案
Economists say the economy is already in recession. Weekly claims are the timeliest labor market indicator. More than 80% of Americans are now under some form of lockdown, up from less than 50% two weeks ago, prompting an avalanche of claims for jobless benefits. Experts warn that the country should brace for the numbers to continue escalating.
經濟學家說，美國經濟已經陷入衰退。每週初請失業金人數是最即時的勞動市場指標。目前有超過80％的美國人受制於某種形式的封鎖令，而兩週前這個比例還不到50%，因此引爆大量的申請失業救濟。專家警告，美國應該做好數字繼續攀升的準備。
timely(adj.)及時的prompting...=which prompts...an avalanche of~大量的;大批的avalanche(n.)雪崩brace for~為不好的事做好準備brace for the storm 為暴風雨做好準備escalate(v.)增強;擴大
“The prospect of more stringent lockdown measures and the fact that many states have not yet been able to process the full amount of jobless claim applications suggest the worst is yet to come,” said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York.
牛津經濟駐紐約的首席美國經濟學家Gregory Daco說：「可能實施更嚴格的封鎖措施，以及許多州還未能處理全部申請失業救濟人數，顯示最糟糕的情況還在後頭。」
prospect(n.)可能;可能性;機會stringent(adj.)嚴格的;苛刻的lockdown(n.)封鎖;封城
The sharp rise in claims signals that the unemployment rate could rise several percentage points in the coming months. This comes after a 50-year low of 3.5% in February, which reflected 5.8 million unemployed Americans.
初請失業金人數大幅上升，顯示未來幾個月失業率可能上升幾個百分點，2月份失業率為3.5%，追平50年來最低水準，反映美國失業人口為580萬人。
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin previously downplayed the jobless claim figures, saying they were “not relevant.”
美國財政部長努欽先前淡化申請失業救濟人數，他說那並不重要。
downplay(v.)輕描淡寫;淡化
“To be honest with you, I think these numbers right now are not relevant, whether they’re bigger or smaller in the short term,” Mnuchin said. “Obviously, there are people who have jobless claims.”
「老實說，我認為現在這些數字無關緊要，無論短期內數字是大是小，」努欽說。「顯然，有些人申請了失業救濟。」
relevant(adj.)相關聯的;確切的relevant work experience 相關的工作經驗