Unemployed means not having a paid job—not being employed. A person who's described as unemployed is typically out of work and looking for a job. ... The state of being unemployed is unemployment. The opposite of this is employment.

What does it mean when you are unemployed?

People are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work.

Who counts as being unemployed?

To be classified as unemployed, a person must be without a job, currently available to work, and actively looking for work in the previous four weeks.