joblessness

IPA/ˈdʒɒbləsnəs/
KK[dʒˈɑbləsnəs]IPA/ˈdʒɑːbləsnəs/

joblessness — noun

1. a situation in which someone, or many people in a place, do not have paid work

1.nounB2
Definition

a situation in which someone, or many people in a place, do not have paid work

Example

After the steel plant closed, joblessness spread quickly through the small coastal town.

joblessness spread through [place] for community-wide loss of work

Mayumi worried that a year of joblessness would hurt her chances of finding work.

a year of joblessness for a period without paid work

Common collocations
  • rising joblessness
  • long-term joblessness
  • joblessness among young people
  • reduce joblessness
  • areas hit by joblessness
Synonyms
  • unemployment

    the standard neutral term; more common in official reports and statistics

  • lack of work

    a plainer phrase that stresses the absence of available jobs

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

rise in joblessness

joblessness among [group]

long-term joblessness

reduce joblessness

Usage Note

Often appears in public discussion about communities, groups, or social conditions, and can sound slightly more human-focused than the more statistical term "unemployment". For one person's immediate situation, English more often uses the adjective "jobless" or "unemployed".

Common Mistakes

My brother has a joblessness since January.
My brother has been jobless since January.' or 'My brother has faced joblessness since January.
use the adjective for one person's situation; the noun names the condition itself.
Many young people are joblessness now.
Many young people are jobless now.' or 'There is a lot of joblessness among young people now.
after 'be', use the adjective 'jobless', not the noun 'joblessness'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Joblessness' and 'unemployment' both describe a lack of paid work, but they do not feel exactly the same. 'Unemployment' is the standard neutral term in news, economics, and official statistics, especially when people talk about rates or figures. 'Joblessness' often feels a little more human or social, so it can sound more personal when writers focus on the effect on families, towns, or young people. 'Being out of work' is an informal everyday phrase, usually used for one person's situation rather than a broad social condition. 'Redundancy' is narrower still: it means losing a job because the employer removes the position. A worker may face redundancy first and then experience joblessness afterward.

joblessness ↗unemployment ↗being out of workredundancy

Common collocations

Nouns

  • rise in joblessness
  • level of joblessness
  • joblessness problem

Phrases

  • reduce joblessness
  • be hit by joblessness

Prepositions

  • joblessness among [group]
  • joblessness in [area]

Etymology

Modern English

Formed in English by adding the noun-forming suffix '-ness' to 'jobless'. 'Jobless' itself combines 'job' with '-less', meaning 'without'. The result is an abstract noun for the condition of not having paid work.