US Economy Contracts 3.5% in 2020 Amid COVID-19 Fallout

2020年美国GDP萎缩3.5%，为二战结束以来最差“成绩”

 

The US economy contracted 3.5 percent in 2020 amid COVID-19 fallout, the largest annual decline of US gross domestic product (GDP) since 1946, according to data released by the US Commerce Department on Thursday.

 

美国商务部1月28日公布的数据显示，受新冠疫情影响，2020年美国经济萎缩3.5%，为1946年以来美国国内生产总值最大年度跌幅。

 

The estimated drop in GDP for 2020 was the first such decline since a 2.5% fall in 2009. That was the deepest annual setback since the economy shrank 11.6% in 1946.

 

该数据是美国GDP自2009年萎缩2.5%以来首次下跌，同时也是1946年美国经济萎缩11.6%以来最惨重的年度经济倒退。

 

The data also showed that the US economy grew at an annual rate of 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, slower than 33.4 percent in the previous quarter.

 

数据还显示，在新冠肺炎确诊病例激增的情况下，2020年第四季度美国经济年增长率为4%，而在2020年第三季度美国经济反弹33.4%。

 

The economy fell into recession in February, a month before the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic.

 

2020年2月，世界卫生组织宣布新冠肺炎为大流行病的前一个月，美国经济陷入衰退。

 

The economy contracted at a post-Depression record 31.4% in the second quarter then rebounded to a 33.4% gain in the following three months.

 

2020年第二季度美国GDP暴跌31.4%，创下大萧条时期以来的最大降幅，随后第三季度反弹33.4%。

 

Thursday’s report was the Commerce Department’s initial estimate of growth for the quarter.

 

1月28日公布的这份报告是美国商务部对2020年第四季度经济增长的初步估计。

 

“The increase in fourth quarter GDP reflected both the continued economic recovery from the sharp declines earlier in the year and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including new restrictions and closures that took effect in some areas of the United States,” the department said in a statement.

 

美国商务部在一份声明中表示：“2020年第四季度GDP的增长既反映了美国经济从去年早些时候的大幅下滑中持续复苏，也反映了新冠疫情的持续影响，包括美国一些地区生效的新限制和封锁措施。”

 

Despite a partial economic rebound in the second half of last year, the US economy shrank 3.5 percent for the whole year of 2020, compared with an increase of 2.2 percent in 2019, according to the department.

 

美国商务部称，尽管去年下半年美国经济出现了部分反弹，但2020年全年美国经济萎缩3.5%，而2019年美国经济增长2.2%。

 

The data came as the United States has recorded more than 25.6 million COVID-19 cases with over 430,000 related deaths as of Thursday morning, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

 

根据约翰斯·霍普金斯大学的统计，截至1月28日上午，美国新冠肺炎确诊病例超过2560万例，死亡人数超过43万。

 

Also Thursday, the Labor Department reported that first-time claims for jobless benefits totaled 847,000 last week

 

同样在1月28日，美国劳工部报告称，上周首次申请失业救济的人数总计84.7万人。

 

The outlook for 2021 remains hazy. Economists warn that a sustained recovery won’t likely take hold until vaccines are distributed and administered nationwide and government-enacted rescue aid spreads through the economy – a process likely to take months. In the meantime, millions of Americans continue to struggle.

 

美国2021年的经济预期仍然不明朗。经济学家警告说，除非在全国范围内分发接种新冠疫苗，并且开展政府主导的经济援助，否则持续复苏将难以实现。然而，这一过程可能需要数月时间，在此期间，数百万的美国人将继续挣扎求生。

 

“Growth is likely to be very weak in the first quarter of 2021, below 1% annualized,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC. “With record-high caseloads early in the year consumers have turned more cautious and states have re-imposed additional restrictions on economic activity, although in a more targeted fashion than in the early stages of the pandemic.”

 

美国PNC金融服务集团首席经济学家格斯·福彻说：“2021年第一季度的经济增长可能非常疲弱，按年率计算可能低于1%。今年年初的病例数量达到新高，消费者变得更加谨慎，各州也重新对经济活动施加了额外的限制，尽管这种限制比疫情早期阶段更具针对性。”

 

“There’s nothing more important to the economy now than people getting vaccinated,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday.

 

美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔1月27日说：“现在对经济来说，没有什么比人们接种疫苗更重要了。”

 

“There is good evidence to support a stronger economy in the second half of this year,” he added, though he noted “considerable risks” to the forecast depending on the path of the virus.

 

他补充说，“有充分的证据支持今年下半年经济走强”，不过他指出，根据疫情的发展，这种预测存在“相当大的风险”。

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