Spanish word

desempleo

Pronunciation

IPA/desemˈpleo/

Meaning

  • masculine noununemployment

Example

En la ciudad hay mucho desempleo entre los jóvenes.

There is a lot of unemployment among young people in the city.

Illustration for desempleo (unemployment)

More examples

La tasa de desempleo ha aumentado en los últimos meses.

The unemployment rate has increased in recent months.

Core concept

Queue of job-seekers outside an employment office.

Common phrases

  • tasa de desempleo

    unemployment rate

  • nivel de desempleo

    unemployment level

  • desempleo juvenil

    youth unemployment

Similar words

paro: Active jobseekers are without work despite wanting employment.
cesantía: Employment ends because a company dismisses workers or shuts down.
desocupación: Insufficient vacancies exist for the available workforce.

Definition in Spanish

Situación en la que personas que quieren y pueden trabajar no tienen empleo remunerado.

Word origin

From the negative prefix des- plus empleo 'paid work', so desempleo denotes the absence of employment.

Usage tips

  • To describe an individual's situation Spanish uses estar desempleado or estar desempleada and colloquially estar en paro, while tener desempleo sounds unnatural.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word