unemployment

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʌn.ɪmˈplɔɪ.mənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from un- and employment.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state of being unused: 1887 in Etymonline, 1888 in the OED;^[2][4] MWU has 1789.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The OED notes that it was in common use from about 1895.^[4] The number or proportion of people out of work, as unemployment is rising, follows.^[6][7] As short for unemployment benefit, on unemployment, it is from 1976.^[4]

Timeline

• 1789 – first known use (MWU).^[5]
• 1887 – being out of work.^[2]
• 1976 – unemployment benefit.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The state of being without a paid job.
2. The number or percentage of people without work.
3. (US, informal) Unemployment benefit.

Word family

• antiunemployment
• unemployment insurance
• technological unemployment
• unemployment benefit
• structural unemployment
• cyclical unemployment

Related words

• unemployed
• employment
• employ
• jobless

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin