unemployed
adjective
un·em·ployed
ˌən-im-ˈplȯid 
: not employed:
a
: not being used
unemployed machines
b
: not engaged in a gainful occupation
an unemployed teacher seeking work
15% of the workforce was unemployed.
c
: not invested
unemployed capital
unemployed
noun
Examples of unemployed in a Sentence
the plant closings left a significant portion of the town's population unemployed
Recent Examples on the Web
As of March, that group accounted for more than one-fifth of all unemployed workers.
—
Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Unfortunately, according to the recent BLS jobs report, the long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), is at 1.5 million in March.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
The accompanying photo showed a clutch of newly unemployed stage orphans from Annie, the hit musical that had closed that weekend after a run of almost six years.
—Frank Rich, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2025
Classified as a lower-middle-income country by the World Bank, nearly half of Lesotho’s 2.3 million population live below the poverty line, while a quarter are unemployed.
—Michelle Gumede and Mogomotsi Magome, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unemployed
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Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Unfortunately, according to the recent BLS jobs report, the long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), is at 1.5 million in March.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
The accompanying photo showed a clutch of newly unemployed stage orphans from Annie, the hit musical that had closed that weekend after a run of almost six years.
—Frank Rich, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2025
Classified as a lower-middle-income country by the World Bank, nearly half of Lesotho’s 2.3 million population live below the poverty line, while a quarter are unemployed.
—Michelle Gumede and Mogomotsi Magome, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unemployed
Cite this Entry
“Unemployed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unemployed. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unemployed
adjective
un·em·ployed
ˌən-im-ˈplȯid
1
: not being used
unemployed tools
2
: not employed : having no job
unemployed workers
unemployed
noun
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