unemployable

American  

[uhn-em-ploi-uh-buhl] / ˌʌn ɛmˈplɔɪ ə bəl /

adjective

1. unsuitable for employment; unable to find or keep a job.

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noun

1. an unemployable individual.

unemployable British  

/ ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪəbəl /

adjective

1. unable or unfit to keep a job

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Usage

What does unemployable mean? Unemployable most commonly means unsuitable for employment or unable to keep a job. The word employable generally means available and able to be hired for a job, especially for long-term employment, but usually also implies that a person is a desirable candidate for a job. Unemployable is the opposite of this. When a person is described as unemployable, it’s usually a very negative and often insulting statement about how they’re not fit to hold a job in any way. However, unemployable can also be used in a neutral way that means they’re not able to be hired for some reason, such as legal status or a lack of positions. Example: Most employers consider convicted felons unemployable, but we give people a second chance.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unemployability
  noun

Etymology

Origin of unemployable

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

Example Sentences

One can see the attraction for writers: the insular setting, the acceptance of eccentricity, the entrenchment of the otherwise unemployable, and the ease by which one can lampoon social trends.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

Speaking to the Times, Ms Cabot said she is looking for another job but has been told she is "unemployable".

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

A number have been left bankrupt and broken, unemployed and unemployable.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2025

She also wrote, directed and starred in the defiantly weird comedy “Mandy,” which follows an unemployable woman as she skips from one odd job to the next.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2025

I could be a lawyer, or a teacher, or my worst fear, unemployable.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad