jobless

American  

[job-lis] / ˈdʒɒb lɪs /

adjective

1. without a job.

2. noting or pertaining to people without jobs, especially to those who are seeking employment.

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noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. unemployed people collectively, especially those who are seeking a job.

jobless British  

/ ˈdʒɒblɪs /

adjective

1. 1. unemployed

   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the jobless

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Other Word Forms

• joblessness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of jobless

First recorded in 1800–10; job ¹ + -less

Explanation

If you're jobless, you don't currently have a job. If you quit your early morning job at the donut shop, you'll be able to sleep late again, but you'll be jobless. The word jobless can be substituted for unemployed. Life can be difficult in a city with a large number of jobless people, and it's especially hard for an older worker to suddenly find herself jobless. The word dates from the early 20th century, and the job at the heart of it comes from the phrase jobbe of worke, or "piece of work," possibly related to gob, "mass or lump."

Example Sentences

Jobless claims also have headed south, with weekly data showing a 207,000 reading on Thursday.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

Jobless claims rise when businesses start cutting jobs and laying off workers, making them one of the best early warning signs of a worsening economy.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026

Jobless inertia and financial strife breed a cruelty that isn’t dissimilar from the cold strike of an employer maintaining their bottom line, cutting 100 workers with the same callousness that they’d cut 1,000.

From Salon • Oct. 7, 2025

Jobless in Seattle: Led by Amazon and Microsoft, companies across Seattle have undergone round after round of layoffs in recent years, shedding tens of thousands of employees.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 21, 2025

The God of the Jobless was with him.

From Buttered Side Down: Stories by Ferber, Edna