employment
B2Formal and neutral. Common in official, business, and legal contexts.
Definition
Meaning
the state of having a paid job; work that a person does for payment.
The act of employing or using something; the utilization of a resource, skill, or object for a specific purpose.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily a mass noun ('He is seeking employment'). Can be used countably ('She has had three employments') but this is rare and formal. The countable sense more commonly refers to types of work or specific instances of using something.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minimal lexical differences. 'Jobcentre' (UK) vs. 'Employment Office/Job Center' (US). The phrase 'in work' is more common in UK than US for 'employed'.
Connotations
In both, the word carries formal/official connotations compared to 'job' or 'work'. Used in legal and economic discourse (e.g., 'terms of employment', 'employment law').
Frequency
Equally frequent and standard in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
employment in (employment in the tech sector)employment as (employment as a teacher)employment with (employment with a multinational firm)employment of (the employment of new technologies)employment for (employment for graduates)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “In the employment of (formal: working for)”
- “Out of employment (dated/formal for unemployed)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Referring to hiring, contracts, and workforce statistics: 'The company offers competitive terms of employment.'
Academic
Used in economics and sociology: 'The paper analyses the impact of automation on regional employment.'
Everyday
Talking about having or looking for a job: 'She found employment at the local school.'
Technical
In law: 'The Employment Rights Act'; in engineering/IT: 'the efficient employment of resources.'
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The firm employs 200 people.
- They were employed on a temporary contract.
- A strategy employing subtle persuasion was used.
American English
- The company employs 200 people.
- They were employed on a temporary contract.
- A strategy employing subtle persuasion was used.
adverb
British English
- This is not employably relevant. (Extremely rare, 'employably' exists but is highly formal/technical)
- N/A
American English
- This is not employably relevant. (Extremely rare)
- N/A
adjective
British English
- The employment tribunal ruled in her favour.
- He works for an employment agency.
- We need to review the employment contract.
American English
- The employment tribunal/hearing ruled in her favor.
- He works for an employment agency.
- We need to review the employment contract.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- She is looking for employment.
- His employment is in a big office.
- Many people lost their employment.
- He found employment as a chef in a local restaurant.
- The level of employment in the country is rising.
- Please state your previous employment on the form.
- After graduating, she secured employment with a leading architectural firm.
- The government introduced new policies to boost employment in the manufacturing sector.
- The terms of his employment include a generous pension scheme.
- The precarious nature of gig economy employment has raised significant legal questions.
- His research focuses on the correlation between educational attainment and long-term employment prospects.
- The efficient employment of available capital is crucial for the startup's survival.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a ploy (a plan or trick) - employment is the plan/activity you are engaged in to earn money.
Conceptual Metaphor
EMPLOYMENT IS A CONTAINER (He is in employment. She entered employment.) EMPLOYMENT IS A COMMODITY (The market offers little employment.)
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'занятость' in its sense of 'busyness'. 'Employment' is specifically paid work.
- The Russian 'трудоустройство' is closer to the *process* of getting a job, while 'employment' is usually the *state*.
Common Mistakes
- Using it as a plural countable noun too freely (e.g., 'I've had many employments' sounds odd; prefer 'jobs').
- Confusing 'employment of' (using something) with 'employment as' (working as something).
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is the LEAST likely meaning of 'employment' in the sentence: 'The employment of drones in agriculture has increased.'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Employment' is formal/official and refers to the state of having paid work. 'Job' is a specific paid position (countable). 'Work' is the general activity (uncountable) or a place of employment ('I'm going to work').
Rarely. It is correct only when referring to multiple distinct instances or types of using something ('the various employments of a single tool') or, very formally, multiple distinct jobs/periods of service. In most contexts, use 'jobs' instead.
Yes, in official contexts, self-employment is a category of employment. You are 'in employment' if you are self-employed, though informally one might say 'I don't have a job, I'm self-employed.'
It refers to the conditions agreed upon between employer and employee, including salary, hours, holidays, duties, and benefits, often detailed in a contract.
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