Word family noun employee employer employment ≠ unemployment unemployed employ adjective employed ≠ unemployed employable ≠ unemployable verb employ
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishunemployedun‧em‧ployed1 /ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪd◂/ ●●● S2 W3 adjective BEwithout a job SYN out of work an unemployed actor I’ve only been unemployed for a few weeks.RegisterIn everyday English, people often say out of work rather than unemployed:He’s been out of work since January.THESAURUSunemployed someone who is unemployed does not have a jobFifty percent of the men in this town are unemployed.out of work unemployed, especially for a long period of time, when you had a job beforeI’ve been out of work for two years.redundant British English if someone is redundant, they have been told that they no longer have a jobHe was made redundant earlier this year.redundant minersbe on the dole British English, be on welfare/on unemployment American English to be receiving money from the government because you do not have a jobI didn’t want to go back on the dole.Many people on welfare don’t have anyone to take care of the kids while they train for a job.be looking for work if someone is looking for work, they do not have a job and are trying to find oneHow long have you been looking for work?jobless people who are jobless do not have jobs – used especially in news reportsThe jobless totals have risen by 6% in the last year. jobless youthsExamples from the Corpus
unemployed• They were glad to be working, especially in these years of drought when so many people were unemployed.• Fifty per cent of the men in this town are unemployed.• The government is not doing enough to help the unemployed.• An estimated 40 percent of the population is unemployed.• How can he explain that when 71,000 people in the city of Liverpool alone are currently unemployed?• My father, who was a well-qualified master mariner, was unemployed for four years in the 1930s.• The accused man is an unemployed labourer from South London.• Body Shop staff adopt a young unemployed person on a one-to-one basis, helping with job applications, for example.• Finally, there was Miss Marita Calagarri, who described herself as an unemployed ship's cook.• an unemployed steel workerunemployedunemployed2 noun → the unemployedExamples from the Corpus
unemployed• But with 3.8 million people unemployed and violence against foreigners on the rise, immigration remains a politically charged issue here.• Easy payment schemes are often possible and for the unemployed or those in receipt of benefits colleges often waive tuition fees.• These were the dummy variables representing the unemployed and the retired.• But there is no evidence that the unemployed or the poor are being pushed to crime by the deteriorating economic conditions.• Most courses cost around the L100 mark but would be free to the unemployed or those in receipt of certain government benefits.• But then, labor has always had a funny relationship with the unemployed.From Longman Business Dictionaryunemployedun‧em‧ployed1 /ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪd◂/ adjective without a jobI have been unemployed for two years.an unemployed accountantunemployedunemployed2 noun [plural] the unemployed people without jobsShe may soon be joining the ranks of the unemployed (=lose her job).The £230 million jobs package was aimed at helping the long-term unemployed (=people who have not had a job for a long time). 