Despite recent hopes of recovery in the US, including an inventory catch-up in the fourth quarter of 2011, real US GDP growth has remained persistently below trend. Moreover, although seasonally adjusted January employment data have brought the unemployment rate down to 8.3% (while total jobs were actually lost in January), the more realistic rate of “underemployment” remains over 15% and the labor-force participation rate is at a record 30-year low.
尽管美国经济最近颇有些复苏的希望（比如2011年第四季度的存货补充），但其真实GDP增长仍然持久地低于趋势增长率。此外，尽管经季节调整的1月就业数据显示失业率下降到了8.3%（但实际上1月份的实际就业数量仍在减少），但更现实的“失业率”仍高达15%以上，劳动力市场参与率更是处于30年来的最低值。美国显然不是唯一一个步履维艰的国家，欧元区就面临着远比美国紧迫的主权债务危机。