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  3. Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, weighed into the debate about immigration last night when he strongly hinted that

Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, weighed into the debate about immigration last night when he strongly hinted that

admin2013-09-23  79
问题     Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, weighed into the debate about immigration last night when he strongly hinted that the influx of workers from eastern Europe over the past year had helped to limit increases in interest rates. Speaking in Yorkshire, Mr. King said that the 120, 000 eastern Europeans who had arrived in Britain since 10 more countries joined the European Union in May 2004 had kept the lid on wages and prevented inflation from rising.
    The governor said the appearance of new workers had helped to ease skill shortages in the economy at a time when inflation was just under Gordon Brown’s 2% target. " Without this influx to fill the skill gaps in a tight labour market it is likely that earnings would have risen at a faster rate, putting upward pressure on the costs of employers and, ultimately, inflation, " he said.
    Home Office estimates of immigration between May 2004 and March 2005 showed an increase in workers from eastern Europe, " not far short of the average annual increase in the labour force over the past decade".
    Interest rates were raised five times between August 2004 and November 2004 to reach 4.75% , but despite claimant-count unemployment being at its lowest level for 30 years, there has been little evidence of an acceleration in pay pressure. " Private-sector regular pay growth has been subdued, which is somewhat puzzling in the context of 30-year high employment rates, and 30-year low unemployment rates, which we would usually associate with a tight labour market, " Mr. King said.
    " It is possible, indeed likely, that inflows of migrant labour have eased labour market pressure. " The governor added, however, that the impact of migrant labour on inflation would diminish if the inflows of the past year were a one-off adjustment to the new work opportunities in Britain.
    Taking stock of the current state of the economy, Mervyn King said some of the beneficial impacts of globalization on inflation—lower prices, higher real incomes and diminished pressure in the labour market—were starting to unwind.
    There was a risk, Mervyn King said, that the recent sharp slowdown in spending on consumer goods would spread to services. He stressed, however, that there was also the possibility that inflationary pressure could build, with growth in the money supply strong, upside risks to labour costs, and rising import prices.
    May’s figures for producer prices showed the cost of the fuel and raw materials used by manufacturers still growing strongly but the increases being largely absorbed in lower profit margins.
    According to the Office for National Statistics, input prices increased by 7. 8% last month compared with a year ago and increased by 0. 2% compared with April. In contrast, the weakness of demand and the strength of competitive pressures meant the price of goods leaving factory prices fell by 0. 2% last month, significantly below City expectations and the annual growth rate fell back to 2. 7% compared with 3. 3% in April—the lowest rate in three months.
What may the low unemployment rates directly lead to according to the passage?
选项 A、High interest rates.
B、High inflation rates.
C、An acceleration of a pay pressure.
D、High employment rates.
答案C
解析 推理题。从文章第四段中可以看出，低失业率意味着人力市场可能存在欠缺，那么雇主在用人时可能要付出较高的报酬才能找到合适的人选，所以说低失业率或许会加剧工资上浮，而工资上浮压力的加剧则最终会导致通货膨胀。本题问低失业率或许会直接导致什么，答案应该是[C]，即导致工资上浮压力的加剧。
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