Work and business / B2

un-im-PLOYM-uh-nt/ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪmənt/

Unemployment is the state or rate of people without jobs (uncountable): unemployment rate; youth unemployment; rise in unemployment. Unemployed is the adjective/person. Joblessness is a twin. Do not write “an unemployment” — say a period of unemployment. ONS figures in UK news.

Meaning

The situation of people not having a job; also the rate of that (uncountable).

Examples

• “Youth unemployment rose after the factory closed.”
• “The unemployment rate hid a rise in insecure work.”

Good to know

Uncountable: unemployment; unemployment rate / benefit. Adjective: unemployed. Twin: joblessness. Not “an unemployment”. UK: ONS figures.

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