托福：经济学人精选文章 不给年轻人倒地方
和以往经济危机中大规模裁员不同，始于2008年的经济危机反而促进了英国老龄人口的就业。不但是预期寿命增加，而低利率，停滞不前的股票市场和许多固定福利养老金制度的终结使得老年人不得不继续工作来维持生活。
Older workers
老年工人
Sticking around
就是不倒地方
The recession has sped up the ageing of Britains workforce
经济衰退加速了英国劳动力的老龄化
A RECENT BBC documentary, The Town That Never Retired, sought to show the effects of increasing the state pension age by putting retirees back to work. Although the results were entertaining, they need not have bothered. Away from the cameras, unprecedented numbers of older people are staying in work. Since the start of the recession that began in 2008, the number of 16- to 24-year-olds in work has fallen by 597,000. Over the same period the number of workers over the age of 65 has increased by 240,000 .
英国广播公司最近的一部纪录片名为《永不退休的城镇》，这部纪录片旨在表现通过促使退休人员重回工作岗位来提高国家退休年龄这一政策所带来的影响。尽管结果非常有趣，但是英国广播公司真是杞人忧天了。在镜头之外，空前数量的老年人仍然坚守在工作岗位上。自从2008年经济衰退爆发以来，16-24岁的工作人数下降了59.7万，而同期，65岁以上的工人数量却增加了24万。
The greying of the British workforce dates back to around 2001, since when the proportion of older people working has nearly doubled. But it has accelerated since the start of the recession. There are several reasons why. Happily, people are living longer and healthier lives, which makes staying in work less daunting than it was. Less happily, low interest rates, a stagnant stock market and the end of many defined-benefit pension schemes make it a financial necessity. And changing attitudes, spurred by rules against age discrimination, are making it easier than ever.
英国劳动力的老龄化始于2001年，从那时起，老龄工人的数量几乎翻番。经济衰退开始以来，英国劳动力的老龄化速度加快，原因很多。令人高兴的是，英国人的寿命预期增加，身体也更加健康，这样一来，老年人继续坚持工作就不像以前那样令人担忧了。然而，低利率，停滞不前的股票市场和许多固定福利养老金制度的终结使得老年人不得不继续工作来维持生活。随着人们对老年人继续工作的态度的改变，加上禁止年龄歧视的规定，如今，老年人继续工作比以前更加容易了。
Most older workers are simply hanging on at the office: 63% of workers over state pension age have been with their employer for more than ten years. Over two-thirds of them work part-time, mostly doing jobs that they once performed full-time. A big advantage is that they do not pay national insurance contributionseffectively a second income tax on younger workers.
大多数老年就业者继续就业的办法就是呆在原来的岗位上，63%超过国家退休年龄的就业者和他们雇主共事的时间已经超过十年。超过三分之二的老年就业者现在的工作是兼职，大多数人做的事退休以前的那份全职工作。他们的一大优势是他们不必缴纳国民保险税，该税收对那些拥有两份工作的年轻工作者十分有效。
According to Stephen McNair, director of the Centre for Research into the Older Workforce, this flexibility explains why older workers have not suffered so much in the slump. Instead of slashing the workforce, as in previous recessions, many firms have halted recruitment and cut working hours. At small businesses in particular, keeping on older workers is cheaper and less risky than training replacements. Over half of workers over state pension age work for businesses with fewer than 25 employees .
史蒂芬.麦克纳尔是老年劳动力研究中心的负责人，他说，这种灵活性解释了老年劳动力在经济衰退中受影响较少的原因。和以往经济危机中裁员不同，许多工厂中止招募新人并缩短工时。保留原来的老龄工作者对他们来说既划算又低风险，这一点对小企业来说尤其如此。半数以上的达到国家退休年龄的工人在雇员数少于25个的工厂中工作。
Christopher Nieper, who owns David Nieper, a womenswear manufacturer based in Derbyshire, prizes his semi-retired workers, who can be employed at short notice and do not need to work full-time to survive. Retired machinists can fill in if there is a surge in orders; former sales advisers can work as part-time consultants. As his competitors have moved production abroad, depleting the pool of trained labour, retaining older workers and their skills has become even more important.
克里斯多夫.涅波是David Nieper公司的老板，这是一家建在德比郡的女性服装生产公司，她奖励了工厂中半退休的员工，他们在工厂需要时能在短时间内回到工作岗位上来，却又并不需要一份全职工作来养活自己。退休的机械工人可以在订单数量激增的时候填补空缺，以前的销售顾问可以兼职提供咨询。这家公司的竞争者将生产线搬到了国外，抛弃了很多受过培训的劳动力，但是，保留老年劳动力和他们掌握的技术现在变得越发重要。
There is scope for the older workforce to expand. Workers over the age of 50 who are made unemployed find it harder to pick up new jobs, which could mean that more oldsters want to work than are able to. That would be good. The Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog, reported on July 12th that an ageing, unproductive population is the biggest long-term threat to Britains economic health.
现在，老年就业者的比例还可能会增加。50岁以上的失业者发现他们要找份新工作变得难上加难，这意味着有更多上了年纪的就业者不愿意离开已经不适合自己工作的岗位。这可不是什么好事。预算责任办公室是一家财政监察部门，在7月12日，该办公室报告称，生产效率地下的老龄人口是英国经济保持长期健康的最大威胁。
Data from the OECD, a think-tank, shows that employment rates among workers approaching retirement age are split in Europe, with old workers hanging on best in the north. Government credit ratings follow a similar pattern. That Britains ageing workforce more closely resembles Germanys than Italys could prove the countrys salvation.
智库经济合作发展组织的数据显示，在欧洲，接近退休年龄的工人的就业率出现分化，欧洲北部国家的老龄人口就业率较高。政府的信用级别和老龄人口就业率成正相关。和意大利相比，英国的老龄人口就业率和德国更加相近，这也可能是拯救意大利经济的一个途径。
备注：
1. 1998年以前英国的公共养老金为强制性制度,由第一层基础养老金、第二层国家收入关联养老金制度、第三层个人养老金组成。1999年通过养老金改革国家收入关联养老金制度被第二国家养老金制度所代替,又新设了合同外包,由此英国养老金制度有了更复杂的形态。
2. 国民保险税也成社会保险税，是对雇主、雇员及自营人员征收的一种税。纳税人是雇主和雇员以及自营人员。课税对象是雇主支付给雇员的劳动所得，以及自营人员从事各项独立劳务活动所取得的所得，实行定额征收制，没有最低生活费和其它任何宽免。
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