美国史上最长经济扩张期结束 2月已陷入衰退

美国国家经济研究局在当地时间6月8日发布声明称，今年2月份，美国的经济活动和就业达到了一个“清晰”且“明确”的峰值，之后开始下降。这标志着始于2009年6月的经济扩张结束，同时也标志着美国经济衰退的开始。这也是美国自2008年金融危机过后的首次衰退，并正式终结了新冠肺炎疫情暴发前持续了长达128个月之久的历史性经济增长周期。

The White House in Washington, D.C., the US, May 29, 2020. /Xinhua

The economic downturn in the US triggered by the pandemic has been officially declared a recession.

由于受到新冠肺炎疫情的影响，美国经济正式陷入衰退。

The National Bureau of Economic Research made the designation on Monday, citing the scale and severity of the current contraction.

美国国家经济研究局根据当前经济衰退的规模和严重程度在当地时间6月8日宣布了这一判断。

It said activity and employment hit a "clear" and "well-defined" peak in February, before falling.

该机构表示，今年2月份，美国的经济活动和就业达到了一个“清晰”且“明确”的峰值，之后开始下降。

The ruling puts a formal end to what had been more than a decade of economic expansion - the longest in US history.

这一判定正式结束了美国长达10多年的经济扩张——这是美国历史上持续时间最长的一次。

Meanwhile, US markets continued their rebound on Monday, as investors remained optimistic that the downturn will be short-lived.

与此同时，美国股市本周一 short-lived [ˌʃɔːt ˈlɪvd]：adj.短暂的，短期的

A recession was expected after the US economy contracted 5% in the first three months of the year.

美国经济在今年前三个月下降了5%，因此经济衰退也在意料之中。

Employers also reported cutting roughly 22 million jobs in March and April, as restrictions on activity intended to help control the virus forced many businesses to close.

旨在控制病毒传播的限制措施迫使许多企业停业，美国的雇主们在今年3月和4月裁员约2200万人。

Some economists are hopeful that the job losses have now stopped, and a rebound has begun. In May, US employers added 2.5 million jobs, as states started reopening.

一些经济学家满怀希望地认为裁员已经终止，经济复苏已经开始。5月份，随着各州开始重新开放，美国增加了250万个工作岗位。

People are seen on the National Mall in Washington D.C., the United States, April 19, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

The National Bureau of Economic Research, a private research organisation, said it viewed the scale of the decline that started in February as more significant than its duration.

私营研究机构美国国家经济研究局认为，始于2月份的这次衰退规模比持续时间更重要。

"The unprecedented magnitude of the decline in employment and production, and its broad reach across the entire economy, warrants the designation of this episode as a recession, even if it turns out to be briefer than earlier contractions," it said.

该机构称：“就业和生产史无前例的下降规模及其对整体经济的广泛影响，使我们有理由将这一时期称为衰退，尽管其持续时间比之前的经济收缩更为短暂。”

The bureau typically defines a recession as an economic contraction that lasts "more than a few months".

该机构通常将衰退定义为持续“数月以上”的经济收缩。

It has declared 12 recessions since 1948, the longest of which was the Great Recession, which lasted 18 months, from December 2007 to June 2009.

自1948年以来，该机构宣布了12次经济衰退，其中最长的一次是2007年12月至2009年6月的“大衰退”，持续了18个月。

US financial markets, which tumbled in February amid signs of the economic collapse, have been on the upswing since March, due to investor hopes that economic damage will be limited, thanks to emergency relief from Congress and the central bank.

美国金融市场曾在2月份因经济崩溃的迹象而暴跌，但由于投资者希望，得益于美国国会和美联储的紧急救助，他们面临的经济损失会是有限的，因此市场自3月份以来一直在回升。

On Monday, the Nasdaq index closed at 9,924.7, gaining 1.1% to top its pre-pandemic record.

本周一 The S&P 500 rose 1.2% to close at 3,232.3 - returning to where it started the year - while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.7% to 27,572.4. The two indexes are now less than 10% lower than their pre-pandemic peaks.

标准普尔500指数上涨1.2%，收于3232.3点，回到年初水平，道琼斯工业平均指数上涨1.7%，收于27572.4点。这两个指数现在比疫情前的峰值低了不到10%。

Many economists have warned that the economic pain is likely to linger, even if the worst has passed.

许多经济学家警告说，即使最糟糕的时期已经过去，经济阵痛可能还会持续下去。

The World Bank on Monday said it expected the global economy to shrink by 5.2% this year, in the deepest recession since World War Two.

世界银行本周一 It said it expected the US economy to contract by 6.1% and the Euro area to shrink by 9.1%.

世界银行预计美国经济将下降6.1%，欧元区将下降9.1%。

While global growth of 4.2% is expected to return next year, the bank warned that the outlook is "highly uncertain and downside risks are predominant, including the possibility of a more protracted pandemic, financial upheaval and retreat from global trade and supply linkages".

尽管预计明年全球经济将恢复4.2%的增长，但世行警告称，前景“高度不确定，下行风险占主导地位，包括疫情可能持续更长时间、金融动荡以及全球贸易和供应联系的倒退”。