美国求职者盼总统国会帮助改善就业

Job hunters around the United States are struggling to keep up their spirits as they look for work, despite the poor economy. Many watched President Barack Obama's Thursday speech to a joint session of Congress.

美国各地的求职者在寻找工作时都在努力打起精神，尽管经济不景气。很多人观看了总统奥巴马周四在国会联席会议上的讲话。

With a national unemployment rate of over 9 percent, young people face tough competition.

由于全国的失业率超过9%，年轻人面临着严峻的竞争。

At California State University, Los Angeles, senior student Kristine Chan is keeping her eye on the job market. “I can tell there are jobs out there. I think that students, we’re not prepared enough for it,” she said.

在加利福尼亚州立大学洛杉矶分校，大四学生克里斯汀.陈密切关注着就业市场。她说：“我可以确信工作是有的。我认为，我们学生还没有充分准备好能胜任工作。”

Chan is studying criminal justice and psychology, and has interned at social agencies as part of a job-hunting strategy.

克里斯汀.陈在学习刑事司法和心理学，她在社会机构实习过，作为求职的一个策略。

Senior student Tien Cheng is studying information technology and accounting, and says his job search is frustrating. “Sometimes I’m not even sure what should I do in this moment, so I try to look for some internship, or some sort of part time job right now, anything," he stated.

大四学生程天学习的是信息技术和会计专业。他说他的求职是令人沮丧的。他说：“有时候，我甚至不确定我在这一刻应该做什么，所以我试着找一些实习，或者某种兼职工作，干什么都行。”

Wall Street is in a slump and the economy is down across the board. But there are still openings, says Christopher Lenz of the Cal State Los Angeles Career Development Center.

华尔街低迷不振，整个经济不景气。不过，加州州立大学洛杉矶分校职业发展中心的克里斯托弗.兰兹说，职位空缺还是有的。

“People leave jobs, they get promotions, they move away. So there’s always some turnover, there are always new openings, so it’s just a matter of hanging in there and keeping at it,” Lenz stated.

“有些人离开工作岗位，有些人获得提升，有些人搬家迁移，所以总是有一些机会的，总是有新的空缺，所以它只是一个持续寻找、不断求索的问题。”

A non-profit organization called Operation Hope runs a cyber café in South Los Angeles, a largely minority neighborhood, where unemployed workers can search online for jobs.

一个叫作希望行动的非盈利组织经营着一家网吧，地点在南洛杉矶。那里是少数民族为主的居民区，失业工人可以在网上搜索工作。Unemployed radio disk jockey Rodd Amos, at 50 years old, takes a systematic approach.

失业的电台音乐播放员罗德.阿莫斯今年50岁，他采用一个系统化的方法。

“Item number one: checking email to see if anyone has responded to my online applications," he explained. "Item number two is create emails to people that I want to talk to.”

他说：“第一项：检查电子邮件，看看是否已经有人回应我的在线申请。第二项：给我想与之交谈的人们写电子邮件。”

He is looking for jobs in customer service or other fields outside of radio.

他正在寻找客户服务方面的工作，或者电台以外的其他领域的工作。

Job hunters hope that Washington can help. Rodd Amos hopes so too, but doesn’t count on it. “Because we cannot rely on the White House. It really comes down to us,” Amos said.

求职者希望华盛顿能够帮助他们。罗德.阿莫斯也希望如此，但并不指望它。他说：“因为我们不能依靠白宫。真正的还要靠我们自己。”

Adrian Dustin Munoz says, for him, the pressure is off after a phone call he got this week. The 25-year-old has been offered an entry-level job in the film industry. “At least for now, I don’t have to worry so much," he said. "I just have to show up to work and make sure I do well.”

阿德里安.达斯汀.穆尼奥斯说，对他来说，这个星期他接到一个电话以后，压力消失了。这个25岁的年轻人在电影业得到了一个入门级别的工作。他说：“至少现在，我不必担心这么多了，我只需要上班，并确保我干得好。”

Others, not so lucky, are doing their best to find work in a difficult job market.

没有那么幸运的其他人则竭尽全力，在举步维艰的就业市场上寻找工作。