unemployed

[ uhn-em-ploid ]

adjective

1. not employed; without a job; out of work:

   an unemployed secretary.

   Synonyms: jobless, idle, unoccupied, at liberty

2. not currently in use:

   unemployed productive capacity.

3. not productively used:

   unemployed capital.

noun

, (used with a plural verb)

1. people who do not have jobs:

   programs to help the unemployed.

unemployed

/ ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪd /

adjective

1. 1. without remunerative employment; out of work
   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the unemployed

2. not being used; idle

Word History and Origins

Origin of unemployed¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; un- ¹ + employ + -ed ²

Example Sentences

Of those who were in work six weeks after being released from custody, 17% reoffended within a year, compared to 35% of those who were still unemployed.

From BBC

"We are facing a crisis of unemployment - for a population that's 2.4 million when you have almost 30% of those people unemployed, it is a crisis. It’s a ticking time bomb," he said.

From BBC

Tirzepatide became the subject of national debate recently when the UK government announced plans to roll it out to unemployed people to help them back into work.

From BBC

But after Sinclair suggested that the state hire idle studios and pay unemployed actors to make movies on their own, the head of Hollywood’s MGM Studios, Louis B. Mayer, a bigwig state Republican, and studio executive Irving Thalberg set to work making the first batch of attack ads, airing them in movie theaters before the features played.

From Slate

The Bonus Expeditionary Force, as the Bonus marchers called themselves, originated in Portland, Ore., with an unemployed ex-sergeant named Walter W. Waters as its commander.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• idle
• inactive
• jobless
• underemployed