Switzerland is first, Yemen last and Northern Europe the top region in a new evaluation of how nations foster their work forces.
各国培养劳动力情况的一份新评估中，瑞士高居榜首，也门排名垫底，北欧则是最好的地区。
The Human Capital Report, released Tuesday by the World Economic Forum, measured 122 countries in four areas -- education, health, employment and 'enabling environment' -- to establish the rankings. The fourth area encompasses subjects such as a country's legal framework as well as transportation and communications infrastructure, which affect an individual's ability to work.
世界经济论坛(World Economic Forum)周二发布的人力资本报告(Human Capital Report)从教育、健康、就业和“有利环境”四个方面衡量了122个国家，从而建立了排名。第四个方面涵盖了一国的法律框架以及交通和通信基础设施等项目，它们影响着个人的工作能力。
This is the first such study from the World Economic Forum, said Saadia Zahidi, head of the Human Capital project at the Switzerland-based organization. The exercise, which was conducted with Mercer Consulting and the Harvard School of Public Health, is designed to help nations see where they fall on the global spectrum, and to highlight strengths in fostering their work forces as well as areas to be addressed, Ms. Zahidi said.
负责这个人力资本项目的扎西迪(Saadia Zahidi)说，这是总部位于瑞士的世界经济论坛首次进行此类研究。扎西迪说，这项研究是与美世咨询(Mercer Consulting)和哈佛大学公共卫生学院(Harvard School of Public Health)一起进行的，旨在帮助各国弄清自己在全球范围内的位置，并突出它们在培养劳动力方面的强项以及需要应对的方面。
The project stemmed from conversations about the global jobs problem -- particularly youth unemployment and regional skills gaps -- and how countries can better invest in current and future workers. The researchers focused on life-long investment in an individual, from birth through death, including areas such as early-childhood education, access to health care and training throughout a worker's career. They tapped public data, such as labor force participation rates, school enrollment rates, infant mortality and life expectancies, as well as findings from World Economic Forum surveys of business executives.
这个项目源于有关全球就业问题的讨论——尤其是年轻人的失业以及地区之间的技能差异——还有各国如何更好地为当前和未来的劳动者投入资源。研究人员将重点放在对个人终生的投资上，从出生直到死亡，包括幼儿教育、医疗条件以及劳动者职业生涯中的培训。他们采用了公开的数据，比如劳动力参与率、入学率、婴儿死亡率和寿命，此外还有世界经济论坛对企业管理人员进行调查的结果。
The authors created a Human Capital Index, based on 51 variables, and found the strongest countries were concentrated in Northern Europe and North America. (Canada placed 10th; the U.S. was 16th.) The countries with the most work to do were largely in the Middle East and Africa.
报告作者创建了人力资本指数(Human Capital Index)，基于51个变量，并发现表现最强劲的国家集中在北欧和北美。（加拿大排名第10；美国排在第16位。）最需要改进的国家大部分位于中东和非洲。
After Switzerland, the top ten countries were Finland, Singapore, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Canada. Southern European countries were among the top half of the results, but not the highest ranks: Spain took 29th place, Italy 37th and Greece 55th.
前10位的国家除了瑞士之外依次为芬兰、新加坡、荷兰、瑞典、德国、挪威、英国、丹麦和加拿大。南欧国家排名靠前，但名次不高：西班牙排在第29位，意大利第37，希腊第55。
Behind the U.S.'s 16th-place ranking was strength in 'workforce and employment' but weakness in 'health and wellness.' An ability to attract and retain outstanding workers catapulted America to 4th place overall in work force rankings; however, high levels of stress and depression sank the country's health ranking to 43rd. The U.S. placed 11th on education and 16th on its environment for workers.
美国排在第16位的原因是劳动力和就业方面有优势，但在卫生和福利方面存在不足。吸引和留住卓越劳动者的能力让美国在整体劳动力排名中排在第四位；然而过高的压力和抑郁令该国在健康方面的排名跌落到第43位。美国在教育方面排名第11位，为劳动力提供的环境排在第16位。
Although rich countries tended to fare better, because they have more money to spend on workers, the correlation with income wasn't absolute. 'Countries that invest in human capital are able to prosper, ' Ms. Zahidi said, and 'a virtuous cycle gets created.' But not all well-off nations are focusing resources on their workers at the same pace. 'Countries like Russia and Kuwait have high income, but haven't made the same types of investment in human capital, ' that other similarly positioned nations have, she said.
虽然富裕国家总体上情况较好，因为它们有更多的钱可以用在劳动力方面，但与收入并无绝对的相关性。扎西迪说，投资于人力资本的国家能够蓬勃发展，并创造良性循环。但并非所有富裕国家都以同样的程度将资源重点投在劳动力方面。她说，俄罗斯和科威特等国家收入很高，但在人力资本上的投资与其他情况相似的国家不同。
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