unemployable
C1Formal / Semi-formal
Definition
Meaning
Not suitable or qualified to be employed in any job; lacking the necessary skills, attitude, or characteristics for employment.
Can also refer to a person who is permanently excluded from employment due to persistent failure to meet workplace standards, or used more loosely to describe something (e.g., a device) that is unfit for its intended use.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Implies a fundamental and often enduring lack of suitability, not a temporary state of unemployment. It can carry a strong negative judgment.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No major semantic differences. The spelling 'unemployable' is standard in both. The term is used in both official/government reports and general discourse.
Connotations
Equally pejorative in both varieties. In UK policy contexts, may be linked to specific welfare or training program classifications (e.g., 'NEET' - Not in Education, Employment, or Training).
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in UK media/policy discourse, but widely used in both.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[BE verb] + unemployablerendered/considered/deemed + unemployableunemployable + because of/due to + [reason]unemployable + in + [field/industry]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[He's] damaged goods (in an employment context)”
- “not worth his salt”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used in HR discussions about candidate suitability or in restructuring to describe staff who cannot be redeployed.
Academic
Used in sociology, economics, and labour market studies discussing structural unemployment and skill mismatches.
Everyday
Used critically to describe someone perceived as lazy, unreliable, or lacking basic skills. 'After that tweet scandal, he's basically unemployable in this industry.'
Technical
Used in vocational rehabilitation, welfare policy, and employment law to categorize individuals for specific interventions or benefits.
Examples
By Part of Speech
adjective
British English
- His complete lack of digital skills made him unemployable in the modern economy.
- The tribunal found she had been unfairly dismissed, but the publicity rendered her unemployable in the sector.
American English
- A felony conviction can make someone unemployable in many professions.
- Without a high school diploma, he was deemed practically unemployable by the agency.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- He never learned to use a computer, so he is almost unemployable now.
- The scandal made the executive virtually unemployable in the finance industry.
- Prolonged absence from the workforce can leave people feeling unemployable.
- Advances in automation threaten to render certain low-skill job categories structurally unemployable.
- The report argued that the education system was producing graduates with unemployable degrees.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
UN- (not) + EMPLOY (to give a job) + ABLE (capable of) = Not capable of being given a job.
Conceptual Metaphor
EMPLOYABILITY IS A MARKETABLE COMMODITY; to be unemployable is to be a DEFECTIVE or UNSALEABLE PRODUCT.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating directly as 'безработный' (bezrabotnyy), which means 'unemployed' (a temporary state). 'Unemployable' is 'нетрудоспособный' or, more precisely, 'непригодный к работе'/'неконкурентоспособный на рынке труда'.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing 'unemployable' (permanent characteristic) with 'unemployed' (current status). Incorrect: *'He is unemployable at the moment, but hopes to find a job soon.' Correct: 'He is unemployed at the moment...'
Practice
Quiz
What is the key difference between 'unemployed' and 'unemployable'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is almost always negative and can be very harsh. In formal/policy contexts, it may be used as a neutral technical descriptor, but in everyday speech, it is strongly pejorative.
Yes, metaphorically. For example: 'This old software is unemployable for modern tasks.' It means the thing is unfit for its intended use.
The direct opposite is 'employable'. Other related positive terms are 'highly marketable', 'job-ready', or 'in demand'.
Yes, 'unemployability' is the noun, though it's less common. 'Lack of employability' is a more frequent phrasing.