Work and business / A2

un-im-PLOYD/ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪd/

Unemployed means without a paid job: be unemployed, unemployed workers, long-term unemployed. Unemployed is the adjective; unemployment is the noun. Retired means you have stopped work because of age. Student is not the same as unemployed. Do not write unemployed when you mean unemployment, or employed (the opposite).

Meaning

Without a paid job.

Examples

• “He has been unemployed since the factory closed.”
• “Many people were unemployed after the shop closed.”
• “She has been unemployed for three months and is looking for work.”

Good to know

be unemployed / unemployed workers. Noun: unemployment. Contrast: retired, employed.

Topics

New