unemployed

Everyday

1. Unemployed means not having a paid job, though able and wanting to work. tree →
2. The unemployed are all the people without jobs. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life and social studies, being unemployed is a problem many families meet; people may get help from the government while they look for work. In maths and news, unemployment numbers or percentages show how many people have no job. "Let go" and "between jobs" are euphemisms for being made unemployed. Phrases: become unemployed, the unemployed, long-term unemployed.

Examples

• My uncle has been unemployed since the factory closed. tree →
• The unemployed can get help to find new jobs. tree →
• She was unemployed for a few months, then found work. tree →
• If 5 of 100 workers are unemployed, that is 5 percent. tree →
• He's not unemployed; he's between jobs, he says. tree →
• Many people became unemployed when the mine shut. tree →

Note

Noun: unemployment (uncountable). Formed from un- + employed. "The unemployed" takes a plural verb: "the unemployed are". Being retired or a pupil is not the same as being unemployed.