unemployable
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
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
Etymology
Origin of unemployable
First recorded in 1885–90; un- 1 + employable
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The new state he lives in has a professional basketball team, but he believes the ordeal has made him unemployable in the small world of sports writers.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
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
The action, he’s said, makes him unemployable, even though he still has a license.
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2025
Many may already be unemployable; the state recently suffered the nation’s highest rate of unemployment, particularly for teenagers and Generation Z, or people under 30.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
I could be a lawyer, or a teacher, or my worst fear, unemployable.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
