unemployment
/ʌn.ɪmˈplɔɪ.mənt/noun
unemployment is spelled U-N-E-M-P-L-O-Y-M-E-N-T: 12 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, unemployment means “The state of having no job; joblessness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of unemployment is unemployments.
How many letters and syllables are in unemployment?
| Letters | 12: U-N-E-M-P-L-O-Y-M-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,934th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is unemployment?
Unemployment appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unemployment?
- /ʌn.ɪmˈplɔɪ.mənt/
Unemployment has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-unemployment.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unemployment
- unemployments plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unemployment mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of having no job; joblessness.
Unemployment made Jack depressed.
- 2
The phenomenon of joblessness in an economy.
Unemployment has been considered a cause of crime.
- 3
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
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
An instance or period of joblessness.
Until then his life had consisted of low-paying jobs, numerous unemployments, and drug use.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unemployment in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense joblessness:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chômage |
| German | Arbeitslosigkeit, Werklosigkeit, Beschäftigungslosigkeit |
| Portuguese | desemprego |
| Spanish | desempleo, paro |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unemployment come from?
From un- + employment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).