当前劳动力市场表面看似强劲，实则暗藏重大问题。
根据美国劳工统计局（Bureau of Labor Statistics）最近的就业报告，失业率仍维持在4.2%的低位，工资增长稳定，美国5月份新增了13.9万个工作岗位，就业市场相对健康。但一份新报告显示，越来越多的美国人正陷入“功能性失业”。
这一术语描述的是未被计入官方失业率数据、但在劳动力市场仍举步维艰的人群。这包括失业但已停止找工作者，以及虽有工作但年收入低于2.5万美元的人群。
专注于经济与政策研究的非营利组织“路德维希共享经济繁荣研究所”（The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity，LISEP）的一份报告显示，目前约有24.3%的美国人属于“功能性失业”人群，高于两年前的约22.3%。
LISEP主席吉恩·路德维希在新闻稿中表示：“当前的就业市场中，近四分之一劳动者处于‘功能性失业’的状态，且当前这种趋势几乎没有改善迹象。残酷的现实是，仍有太多美国人在勉强度日，若没有大量可靠的高薪工作岗位出现，经济机会差距将会扩大。”
“功能性失业”等替代性指标或许能部分解释为何当下如此多劳动者对经济感到悲观。例如，就业平台Glassdoor近期的一份报告发现，初级员工的信心指数已跌至历史最低点。传统失业率虽仍较低，但劳动力市场较几年前已经降温，员工们正警惕地关注着关税和人工智能将如何影响他们未来的就业前景。
路德维希表示：“在已然充满不确定性的经济前景下，功能性失业率的上升是一个令人担忧的动向。”（*）
译者：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
当前劳动力市场表面看似强劲，实则暗藏重大问题。
根据美国劳工统计局（Bureau of Labor Statistics）最近的就业报告，失业率仍维持在4.2%的低位，工资增长稳定，美国5月份新增了13.9万个工作岗位，就业市场相对健康。但一份新报告显示，越来越多的美国人正陷入“功能性失业”。
这一术语描述的是未被计入官方失业率数据、但在劳动力市场仍举步维艰的人群。这包括失业但已停止找工作者，以及虽有工作但年收入低于2.5万美元的人群。
专注于经济与政策研究的非营利组织“路德维希共享经济繁荣研究所”（The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity，LISEP）的一份报告显示，目前约有24.3%的美国人属于“功能性失业”人群，高于两年前的约22.3%。
LISEP主席吉恩·路德维希在新闻稿中表示：“当前的就业市场中，近四分之一劳动者处于‘功能性失业’的状态，且当前这种趋势几乎没有改善迹象。残酷的现实是，仍有太多美国人在勉强度日，若没有大量可靠的高薪工作岗位出现，经济机会差距将会扩大。”
“功能性失业”等替代性指标或许能部分解释为何当下如此多劳动者对经济感到悲观。例如，就业平台Glassdoor近期的一份报告发现，初级员工的信心指数已跌至历史最低点。传统失业率虽仍较低，但劳动力市场较几年前已经降温，员工们正警惕地关注着关税和人工智能将如何影响他们未来的就业前景。
路德维希表示：“在已然充满不确定性的经济前景下，功能性失业率的上升是一个令人担忧的动向。”（*）
译者：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
The current labor market appears strong on the surface, but there are big problems lurking underneath.
Unemployment is still low at 4.2%, wage growth is steady, and the U.S. added a relatively healthy 139,000 roles in May according to the recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But a growing number of Americans are “functionally unemployed” according to a new report.
That’s a term that describes people who are not included in topline unemployment numbers, but are still struggling in the labor market. That includes people who are jobless but have stopped searching for work, as well as people who are employed but earning an annual salary of less than $25,000 a year.
Around 24.3% of Americans currently fall under that category, according to a report from The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), a nonprofit focused on economic and policy research. That’s up from around 22.3% two years ago.
“We are facing a job market where nearly one-in-four workers are functionally unemployed, and current trends show little sign of improvement,” said LISEP Chair Gene Ludwig in a press release. “The harsh reality is that far too many Americans are still struggling to make ends meet, and absent an influx of dependable, good-paying jobs, the economic opportunity gap will widen.”
Alternative metrics like “functional unemployment” might help partially explain why so many workers are feeling down about the economy right now. One recent report from employment platform Glassdoor, for example, found that employee confidence amongst entry-level workers has hit an all-time low. Traditional unemployment is still modest, but the labor market has cooled from where it was just a few years ago, and employees are looking warily at how tariffs and AI will affect their future job prospects.
“Amid an already uncertain economic outlook,” said Ludwig, “the rise in functional unemployment is a concerning development.”