Shirtsleeve

2005年，美國白領工作者人數在縮水多年后有所上升，市場上對金融人才、工程師、律師、會計師和IT精英的需求量上漲。外電報道如下：After years of being downsized, the white-collar workforce is now on the rise. Companies are hiring engineers, lawyers, accountants, and computer whizzes. With a pickup in mergers and continued low interest rates, there is demand for finance specialists. And in an indication that this type of hiring is likely to continue, demand is growing for recruiters. Hiring the shirtsleeve crowd represents a shift in the economy toward higher-paying jobs and a more skilled workforce. It also indicates that some companies that squeezed their middle managements four years ago are starting to rebuild them. "It's a sign that companies … are not as worried that their fortunes will disappear at any moment," says John Challenger, an employment expert at the Chicago-based outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "It means they are confident enough to take on more risks, more hiring of skilled people to grow their business." Shirtsleeve（shirt-sleeve）意為“只穿襯衣不穿外衣的”，指代終日呆在辦公大廈里享受空調，無需穿外衣的白領工作者。此外，shirtsleeve的比喻義為“不拘形式的，非正式的，直率的，切合實際的”。例如：shirtsleeve spectators（衣著隨便的觀眾）；a shirtsleeved orchestra.（一個衣著隨便的交響樂團）；shirtsleeve politics（直來直去的政治）；a shirtsleeves conference（非正式會談）等。 （中國日報網站編）