unemployment line
9
3.2
- noun
- /ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪmənt laɪn/
- US
:
cola de desempleo
- During the economic crisis, many families found themselves waiting in the unemployment line for assistance.
- stand in an unemployment line
- people in the unemployment line
- joining the unemployment line
Examples
-
Standing in the unemployment line, he felt anxious about his future and the job market.
-
- It's back to the unemployment line.
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So I want you to be prepared for what it feels like to be on the unemployment line.
-
Eventually, the steel plant went out of business and Joe went on the unemployment line.
Blog text (9) -
There is a simple solution to this besides putting another person in the unemployment line.
Blog text (2) -
More importantly, some of those standing in the unemployment line might be able to find a job.
Blog text (15) -
18,000 people are flooding unemployment lines across the country, including my husband, who did not strike.
Blog text (1) -
When containers stop moving, assembly plants go idle, retail shelves are bare, and workers end up in unemployment lines.
Academic text (2005) -
She arrived early to the unemployment line so she could apply for jobs before they filled up.
Synonyms
27
2.9
A line of people or vehicles waiting their turn
1
1.8
A line of people or cars waiting for their turn
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from 'unemployment' (being without a job) modifying 'line' (a queue): together they specify a queue related to unemployment benefits or job-seeking. This simple noun–noun composition follows common cross-linguistic patterns and would be easily inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Unemployment line comes from the simple picture of people who have lost work standing in a line to get help: unemployment means having no job and line means a row of people waiting. That's why the phrase means 'a line of people waiting for unemployment benefits or to apply for jobs'.