unemployment compensation

unemployment compensation — noun

1. money that a government or similar organization pays regularly to someone who do

1.nounB2
Definition

money that a government or similar organization pays regularly to someone who does not have a job and is actively looking for work.

Example

After the factory closed, Wei Chen applied for unemployment compensation while looking for work.

collocation: 'apply for + unemployment compensation'

The state government raised unemployment compensation by fifteen percent during the recession to help families cover basic needs.

collocation: 'raise / increase + unemployment compensation'

Common collocations
  • apply for unemployment compensation
  • receive unemployment compensation
  • claim unemployment compensation
  • unemployment compensation payments
  • unemployment compensation benefits
  • eligible for unemployment compensation
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

apply for / claim / receive + unemployment compensation

unemployment compensation + from + [government agency / state]

Usage Note

This term is used primarily in American English; in British English, 'jobseeker's allowance' or 'unemployment benefit' are more common. It is an uncountable noun — you do not say 'an unemployment compensation' or 'unemployment compensations.'

Common Mistakes

I received an unemployment compensation last month.
I received unemployment compensation last month.
'unemployment compensation' is uncountable and does not take the article 'a' or 'an'.
He claimed unemployment compensations for three months.
He claimed unemployment compensation for three months.
Do not add -s; the term is always singular and uncountable.

Word family

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The term 'unemployment compensation' combines 'unemployment' (the state of being without paid work, from 'un-' meaning 'not' + 'employment') with 'compensation' (from Latin 'compensare', meaning 'to weigh against' or 'to counterbalance'). The phrase emerged in the United States during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when the Social Security Act of 1935 created the first federal-state system of payments for workers who had lost their jobs. The word 'compensation' was chosen to convey the idea that society was making up for lost wages, rather than simply giving charity.

First known use

1935

1935, in the meaning defined above