Okuzeka
Economics vocabulary · Jobs and Unemployment

Unemployment

Meaning in economics, with examples

/ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪmənt/nounCore term

In economics, unemployment means: The situation of people who have no job but are available for work and actively looking for one; also the number or share of such people.

In Turkish: işsizlik

How it is used

The headline figure is the unemployment rate, the share of the labour force without a job. It rises, falls, stays flat or hits a record low. Official definitions follow the International Labour Organization, so people who have stopped looking are not counted as unemployed.

Example sentences

  1. The unemployment rate fell to 8.6%, its lowest level in five years.

  2. Youth unemployment remains much higher than the national average.

Common collocations

  • the unemployment rate
  • youth unemployment
  • high unemployment
  • unemployment benefit
  • long-term unemployment
  • labour marketThe market in which workers offer their time and skills and employers hire them, setting the level of employment and wages.
  • labour forceAll the people who are either working or unemployed but actively looking for work; students, retirees and others not seeking jobs are left out.
  • structural unemploymentLong-lasting unemployment caused by a mismatch between workers' skills or locations and the jobs available, often after technology or industries change.
  • participation rateThe share of the working-age population that is in the labour force, meaning people who are either working or actively looking for work.

More terms: Jobs and Unemployment

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.