unemployment

noun

un·​em·​ploy·​ment ˌən-im-ˈplȯi-mənt How to pronounce unemployment (audio)
1
: the state of being unemployed : involuntary idleness of workers
also : the rate of such unemployment
2

Examples of unemployment in a Sentence

My unemployment lasted about six months. Unemployment has been increasing for months. The current unemployment rate is six percent.
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.
The unemployment figure Hawley cited comes from a projection Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic, made in May in an interview with Axios. Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 11 Nov. 2025 While available data from private and alternative sources suggest that the jobs market hasn’t significantly weakened, economists are concerned that unemployment remains a key risk to the economy in 2026. Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 11 Nov. 2025 Ardila, who describes himself as a recovering addict, attended his first Narcotics Anonymous meeting at the center in 2022, through its Rainbow Recovery program, and received rental assistance from the organization during a period of unemployment. Eloise Rollins-Fife, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025 There are also such dark social themes in the film as corporate power, media control, social injustice, unemployment, poverty, drugs, mental health, police-state dynamics, and violence. Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for unemployment

Word History

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of unemployment was in 1789

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Cite this Entry

“Unemployment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unemployment. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

unemployment

noun
un·​em·​ploy·​ment ˌən-im-ˈplȯi-mənt How to pronounce unemployment (audio)
: the state of being out of work
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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