unemployment

[ uhn-em-ploi-muhnt ]

noun

1. the state of being unemployed, especially involuntarily:

   Automation poses a threat of unemployment for many unskilled workers.

2. the number of persons who are unemployed.
3. Informal. unemployment benefit.

unemployment

/ ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪmənt /

noun

1. the condition of being unemployed
2. the number of unemployed workers, often as a percentage of the total labour force

Other Words From

• anti·unem·ployment adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of unemployment¹

First recorded in 1885–90; un- ¹ + employment

Example Sentences

Unlike U.S. citizens or green card holders, undocumented farmworkers do not qualify for federal unemployment or disaster benefits.

From Los Angeles Times

In practice, the effects of raising the minimum wage on inflation and on unemployment are complex and hotly debated.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump will take office in an economy that has strengthened in recent months, with a decline in interest rates, unemployment numbers and inflation.

From Salon

The economy couldn’t have been better for the Democrats: four percent unemployment, three percent GDP growth, two percent inflation and a stock market that couldn’t quit setting records.

From Salon

More than $5 trillion goes each year to Social Security, Medicare, federal employee retirement, unemployment compensation and the like.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bankruptcy
• collapse
• decline
• deflation
• downturn
• hard times
• inflation
• shakeout
• slide
• slump
• stagnation

More About Unemployment

What does unemployment mean?

Unemployment is the state of not having a paid job—of being unemployed.

Unemployment is also commonly used in the context of economics to mean the total number of people unemployed, such as in a country, as in Unemployment is down this quarter, with thousands of new jobs having been created. The opposite of this is employment—the total number of people who are employed. Employment also commonly means the state of being employed.

The word unemployment is sometimes used as a short and informal way of referring to an unemployment benefit, which is an allowance of money paid to unemployed workers, such as by the government. People receiving such a benefit are often said to be receiving unemployment.

Example: Unemployment is extremely stressful when you go months without any job prospects. 

Where does unemployment come from?

The first records of the word unemployment come from the 1880s. Its base word, employ, ultimately derives from the Latin implicāre, meaning “to engage” (the word engage is sometimes used to mean “to hire” or “to employ”).

When unemployment refers to the total number of people who are not employed, it’s often used in news reports that discuss employment reports and whether unemployment or unemployment numbers are “up” (meaning the total has increased since the last time it was measured) or “down” (meaning it has decreased).

Unemployment is sometimes discussed along with underemployment. A person who is underemployed has a job, but is not working full-time or as many hours as they want to be.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to unemployment?

• employment (noun)

What are some words that share a root or word element with unemployment? 

• unemployment benefit
• unemployed
• employ
• employer
• employee
• underemployed

 

What are some words that often get used in discussing unemployment?

• job
• report
• benefit
• up
• down
• numbers
• work
• worker
• hire
• hire
• hire

How is unemployment used in real life?

Unemployment is always used in the context of jobs: not having a job, how many people don’t have jobs, and the monetary support those people sometimes get.

I'm not worried about the job market in June, 2020.

I'm worried about the job market in June, 2021.

Structural unemployment is the issue as companies realize they can do more, with less.

— Brian Sullivan (@SullyCNBC) June 5, 2020

Blacks college grads are suffering from unemployment rates that are painfully high compared to white counterparts: http://t.co/rqIi57FeHa

— Rachel Swarns (@rachelswarns) December 25, 2014

In some states, unemployment is up 4,577% from 2019 https://t.co/DAyZHbudsH pic.twitter.com/8aEiOql1dI

— Forbes (@Forbes) May 8, 2020

Try using unemployment!

Is unemployment used correctly in the following sentence?

Unemployment has been up for the last three quarters, but it’s expected to start decreasing.