1Unemployment — the state of not having a job or steady income. Common in news and economic contexts.
失業率は先月よりわずかに下がった。
The unemployment rate dropped slightly from last month.
長引く失業で、彼の生活はかなり苦しくなっていた。
Prolonged unemployment had made his life quite difficult.
失業保険を受け取りながら、次の仕事を探している。
He's job-hunting while receiving unemployment benefits.
2Losing one's job or becoming unemployed — commonly used in the form '失業する' (to become unemployed).
不況の影響で、多くの人が失業した。
Due to the recession, many people lost their jobs.
会社が倒産し、彼は突然失業してしまった。
The company went bankrupt, and he suddenly found himself unemployed.
大規模なリストラで失業する社員が相次いだ。
One employee after another became unemployed due to the large-scale layoffs.