unemployment

unemployment — noun

1. A count of those in a country or area who have no paid job, used as a sign of ho

1.nounB2
Definition

A count of those in a country or area who have no paid job, used as a sign of how well the economy is doing.

Example

The government announced that unemployment had fallen to its lowest level in ten years.

unemployment + fallen to + level — collocation for statistical change

Lucía checked the latest unemployment figures before making her investment decision.

Common collocations
  • rate of unemployment
  • unemployment figures
  • unemployment level
  • falling unemployment
  • rising unemployment
  • high unemployment
Synonyms
  • jobless rate

    more informal, used mainly in journalism and everyday speech

  • joblessness level

    less common; emphasises the condition of individuals rather than the economic statistic

Antonyms
  • employment rate

    the opposite measure — the percentage of people who have jobs

Grammar Patterns

rate of ~

level of ~

~ figures

~ rate

Usage Note

Frequently used with modifiers such as "rising", "falling", "high", or "low" to describe trends. Often appears in collocations with "rate", "level", and "figures".

Common Mistakes

The unemployment is very high in that area.
The unemployment rate is very high in that area.
as an economic indicator, "unemployment" is almost always paired with "rate" when quoting a percentage figure.
Unemployments in two cities are different.
Unemployment figures in the two cities are different.
unemployment is uncountable and does not take a plural form.

2. The situation of being without a paid job and wanting or needing to work.

2.nounB1
Definition

The situation of being without a paid job and wanting or needing to work.

Example

The factory shut-down left Aarav unemployed for many months before he found a new job.

period of unemployment — common time-frame collocation

Nellie used her time of unemployment to learn new skills through free online courses.

Common collocations
  • long-term unemployment
  • period of unemployment
  • face unemployment
  • experience unemployment
  • reduce unemployment
  • youth unemployment
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • employment

    the state of having paid work

  • work

    general term for having a paid job

Grammar Patterns

period of ~

long-term ~

~ benefits

Usage Note

Commonly modified by adjectives describing duration ("long-term", "short-term") or cause ("seasonal", "structural"). Often appears with "suffer", "face", "experience", or "reduce".

Common Mistakes

He is in unemployment since March.
He has been unemployed since March.
to describe a person's situation, use the adjective "unemployed" rather than the noun "unemployment".
She lost her job and now she suffers unemployment.
She lost her job and is now unemployed.
"suffer unemployment" is grammatically possible but sounds unnatural; "be unemployed" is the standard expression.

3. Regular financial support from the government given to people who are out of wor

3.nounB2
Definition

Regular financial support from the government given to people who are out of work and looking for a job.

Example

Christopher applied for unemployment after being laid off from his warehouse job.

apply for unemployment — collocation for claiming benefits

The size of a person's unemployment payments depends on their previous salary.

Common collocations
  • claim unemployment
  • receive unemployment
  • be on unemployment
  • unemployment payments
  • unemployment benefits
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

claim ~

receive ~

be on ~

Usage Note

In British English this sense is often called "unemployment benefit"; in American English it is commonly called "unemployment compensation" or simply "unemployment". Used only in the singular — never "unemployment benefits" as a plural.

Common Mistakes

I am receiving an unemployment.
I am receiving unemployment payments.
"unemployment" alone is uncountable; add "payments" or "benefits" when referring to the actual money.
He collected unemployments for six months.
He collected unemployment for six months.
even in this sense the word remains uncountable and has no plural form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

"Unemployment" (the broadest term) describes the general state of being without paid work while seeking it. "Joblessness" is a near-synonym but sounds more formal and is used more in academic or policy writing. "Redundancy" is narrower — it refers specifically to losing your job because the employer no longer needs that role, often with a severance package. "Layoff" is temporary or permanent dismissal due to lack of work, not because of poor performance. "Idleness" has a very different tone: it implies not working by choice or lack of effort, not because jobs are unavailable. For example, the government releases unemployment figures each month, but when a single person is told their role is no longer needed, they experience redundancy. A factory worker may face a temporary layoff when demand drops. Calling someone "idle" suggests a value judgment that "unemployed" avoids.

joblessnessredundancylayoffidleness

Common collocations

Nouns

  • unemployment rate
  • unemployment figures
  • unemployment level
  • unemployment benefits
  • unemployment payments
  • unemployment insurance
  • unemployment compensation

Phrases

  • period of unemployment
  • time of unemployment
  • year of unemployment
  • rate of unemployment
  • level of unemployment

Adjectives

Prepositions

  • unemployment among
  • unemployment in
  • rate of unemployment
  • rise in unemployment
  • fall in unemployment

Etymology

Old English (un-)Latin (implicare)Old French (emploiiier)English (-ment)Modern English

Formed by adding the negative prefix "un-" (from Old English meaning "not") to "employment", which comes from the Old French verb "emploiiier" (to make use of), itself from the Latin "implicare" (to fold in or engage). The suffix "-ment" turns the verb into a noun. The word entered English around the early 17th century but only became common in the late 19th century, when industrialization created the need for a term describing widespread joblessness as a social condition rather than a personal failing.