US Jobless Rate Rises While Job Growth Slows (Business)

By VOA News
https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-jobless-rate-rises-while-job-growth-slows
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1. Nonfarm (adj) relating to economic activities not associated with farming

2. Payroll (n) (A) a list of people employed by a company showing the amount of money to be paid to each of them

We have 500 people on the payroll.
Manufacturing payrolls have dropped by 16,000.

(B) (usually singular) the total amount paid in wages by a company

The firm is growing fast with a montly payroll of $1 million.
They have an annual payroll of #23 million.

3. Modest (adj) not very large, expensive, important, etc.

modest improvement/reforms
He charged a relatively modest fee.
a modest little house
The research was carried out on a modest scale.
The party made modest gains in teh elections, but nothing like the huge gains that were predicted.
a modest increase in costs
She had saved a modest amount of money.

4. Revise (v) to change sth because of new information or ideas

The college has revised its plans because of local objections.
We have revised our estimates of population growth.
~ sth upwards/downwards
Forecasts of economic growth are being revised downwards.
I can see I will have to revise my opinions of his abilities now.
The government may need to revise its policy in the light of this report.
These figures have now been revised.
Cutbacks on investment have led to growth predictions being revised downward.

5. Attribute sth to sth (v) to say or believe that sth is the result of a particular thing

She attributes her success to hard work and a little luck.
Her teachers attributed her learning difficulties to emotional problems.
The fall in the number of deaths from heart disease is generally attributed to improvements in diet.

syn: ascribe, apply, credit, assign

6. Impetus /ˈɪmpɪtəs/ (n) sth that encourages a process or activity to develop more quickly; an influence that makes sth happen or makes it happen more quickly

The debate seems to have lost much of its initial impetus.
to give (a) new/fresh impetus to sth
The Prime Minister's support will give (an) added impetus to the campaign against crime.
His articles provided the main impetus for change.
The report may provide further impetus for reform.
The discovery gave fresh impetus to the research.

syn: incentive, push, spur, motivation, impulse

7. Lay-off/layoff (n) an occasion when an employer ends a worker's employment for a temporary period of time because there is not enough work

more lay-offs in the car industry
lay-offs in the factory
The recent economic crisis has led to massive layoffs.
It will close more than 200 stores nationwide resulting in the layoffs of an estimated 2,000 employees.

8. Quarter (n) a period of three months, used especially as a peirod for which bills are paid or a company's income is calculated

The rent is due at the end of each quarter.
Our gas bill for the last quarter was much higher than usual.
Sales were down 10% in the first quarter of 2009.
The company's profits fell in the third quarter.