jobless

adjective

job·​less ˈjäb-ləs How to pronounce jobless (audio)
Synonyms of joblessnext
1
: having no job
2
: of or relating to those having no job
jobless benefits
joblessness noun

Examples of jobless in a Sentence

having been jobless for six months, he was starting to get seriously discouraged
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Those without a high school diploma face the highest risk of being out of work, with jobless rates more than twice those of college grads, while everyone else falls somewhere in between. Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 17 May 2026 And what’s a married, jobless, middle-aged mouse to do in the face of such circumstances? Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 15 May 2026 The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week gyrations, inched up by 750 to 203,750. Matt Ott, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026 The Labor Department's report Thursday showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week gyrations, inched up by 750 to 203,750. ABC News, 14 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for jobless

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of jobless was in 1862

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Cite this Entry

“Jobless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jobless. Accessed 20 May. 2026.

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