Definitions for unemployment
ˌʌn ɛmˈplɔɪ məntun·em·ploy·ment

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.5 / 2 votes

1. unemploymentnoun

   the state of being unemployed or not having a job

   "unemployment is a serious social evil"; "the rate of unemployment is an indicator of the health of an economy"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. unemploymentnoun

   The state of having no job; joblessness.

   Unemployment made Jack depressed.

2. unemploymentnoun

   The phenomenon of joblessness in an economy.

   Unemployment has been considered a cause of crime.

3. unemploymentnoun

   The level of joblessness in an economy, often measured as a percentage of the workforce.

   Unemployment was reported at 5.2% in May, up from 4.9% in April.

4. unemploymentnoun

   A type of joblessness due to a particular economic mechanism.

   All unemployments, seasonal, frictional, cyclical, classical, whatever, mean that you're out of work.

5. unemploymentnoun

   An instance or period of joblessness.

   Until them his life had consisted of low-paying jobs, numberous unemployments, and drug use.

FreebaseRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Unemployment

   Unemployment occurs when people are without work and actively seeking work. The unemployment rate is a measure of the prevalence of unemployment and it is calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals currently in the labor force. During periods of recession, an economy usually experiences a relatively high unemployment rate. According to International Labour Organization report, more than 197 million people globally are out of work or 6% of the world's workforce were without a job in 2012. There remains considerable theoretical debate regarding the causes, consequences and solutions for unemployment. Classical economics, New classical economics, and the Austrian School of economics argue that market mechanisms are reliable means of resolving unemployment. These theories argue against interventions imposed on the labor market from the outside, such as unionization, bureaucratic work rules, minimum wage laws, taxes, and other regulations that they claim discourage the hiring of workers. Keynesian economics emphasizes the cyclical nature of unemployment and recommends government interventions in the economy that it claims will reduce unemployment during recessions. This theory focuses on recurrent shocks that suddenly reduce aggregate demand for goods and services and thus reduce demand for workers. Keynesian models recommend government interventions designed to increase demand for workers; these can include financial stimuli, publicly funded job creation, and expansionist monetary policies.

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Unemployment

   The state of not being engaged in a gainful occupation.

Matched Categories

1. • State

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'unemployment' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1624

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'unemployment' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1916

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'unemployment' in Nouns Frequency: #730

How to pronounce unemployment?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say unemployment in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of unemployment in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of unemployment in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of unemployment in a Sentence

1. Michael Schaefer:

   I don't think that necessarily portends mass unemployment in the restaurant industry, but it might certainly mean a reshuffling of where people are working.

2. President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday:

   Let us, whatever our affiliations, political, religious, social, continue to believe in ourselves, to believe in our collective capacity, so as to overcome adversity and challenges that confront us, including unemployment.

3. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia:

   We know that a number of states have now significantly increased staffing at their unemployment insurance offices, we are seeing signs that states are getting past the operational problems that some experienced with the initial large increase in filings.

4. Jonathan Pryke:

   I guarantee you the vast majority of the people involved in the rioting and looting couldn't point China or Taiwan out on a map, they were there as opportunists because they have had very limited economic opportunity. It's a very poor country with high youth unemployment, and this just shows how quickly these things can spiral out of control in a country that's volatile.

5. Valerie Amos:

   Today, a Syrian's life expectancy is estimated to be 20 years less that when the conflict started, unemployment is around 58 percent, up from around 10 percent in 2010; nearly two-thirds of all Syrians are now estimated to be living in extreme poverty.

Popularity rank by frequency of use