unemployment

American  

[uhn-em-ploi-muhnt] / ˌʌn ɛmˈplɔɪ mənt /

noun

unemployment plural

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.

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unemployment British  

/ ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪmənt /

noun

1. the condition of being unemployed

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

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Usage

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. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antiunemployment
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• unemployment
  plural

Etymology

Origin of unemployment

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

Explanation

Unemployment refers to not having a job. The more people have work, the less unemployment there is. When you're employed by someone, you work for them: employment is a job. Therefore, unemployment is the lack of a job. Economists often talk about how much unemployment there is and whether the unemployment rate is increasing or decreasing. If it's up, that's bad for the economy, because more people are out of work. Sometimes, the government provides unemployment benefits for people who have recently lost their jobs.

Example Sentences

The study also categorized unemployment claims by age and found that a significant portion of claims were from those aged 36 to 65, signaling that AI’s effect doesn’t only affect early-career jobs.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 4, 2026

It found that unemployment insurance claims among college-educated workers in high-AI-exposed jobs, such as customer service and software development, increased after ChatGPT’s release in 2022 and remained elevated through May 2026.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 4, 2026

Tackling unemployment linked to long-term illness will unlock economic growth that's "hiding in plain sight", former John Lewis chair Sir Charlie Mayfield has said.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026

Thursday’s data indicates that the unemployment rate was pulled lower by the unusually large decline in the number of Americans who are either employed or looking for work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 3, 2026

In 1986 unemployment in Odessa shot up to 20 percent.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

Related Words

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