Meaning & use
unemployment
The state of being without a paid job while being available and willing to work.
See it in a sentence
Unemployment rose sharply after the factory closed and hundreds of workers lost their jobs.
He collected unemployment benefits for three months while searching for new work.
A note on using this word
Unemployment can refer either to an individual's situation or to the overall rate measured across an economy.
Words with a similar meaning
joblessness
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
employment
Make it your own
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