jobless

adjective

job·​less ˈjäb-ləs 

1

: having no job

2

: of or relating to those having no job

jobless benefits

joblessness noun

Synonyms of jobless

• unemployed

Examples of jobless in a Sentence

having been jobless for six months, he was starting to get seriously discouraged

Recent Examples on the Web

The proposed Department of Labor regulations, set to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, would require people applying for or collecting jobless aid to complete at least five unique work searches per week. — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 9 Nov. 2026

Given that, a rising share of long-term unemployed people can explain in part why initial and continuing jobless claims have remained low. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026

When a degree still guaranteed a lower jobless rate, a few years tending bar after graduation was a detour. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2026

Initial jobless claims for the week ending October 10 ticked up by 1,000 to 199,000 from the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. — ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined at sense 1