unemployment

noun

un·​em·​ploy·​ment ˌən-im-ˈplȯi-mənt 

1

: the state of being unemployed : involuntary idleness of workers

also : the rate of such unemployment

2

: unemployment compensation

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

What To Know An extra $900 million in federal COVID-19 unemployment benefits will be sent to qualifying Ohio residents if the state agrees with the lower court decisions. —Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025

Princess Kate is patron of The Forward Trust, a British charity working to support individuals impacted by addiction, crime, homelessness or long-term unemployment, and spearheaded the first Addiction Awareness Week in 2021. —Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 24 Nov. 2025

White collar unemployment Americans with four-year university degrees now make up a quarter of the unemployed, a record, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. —Diane Brady, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2025

The former co-president of the Recording Academy and Google VP launched the Global State of Women platform to address the unemployment crisis hitting women nationwide. —Essence, 24 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing unemployment

• anti-unemployment
• unemployment compensation
• unemployment insurance

Rhymes for unemployment

• preemployment
• redeployment
• reemployment
• deployment
• employment
• enjoyment
• underemployment

Kids Definition

unemployment

noun

un·​em·​ploy·​ment ˌən-im-ˈplȯi-mənt 

: the state of being out of work