employment

English

Etymology

From employ (itself from Middle French employer, from Middle French empleier, from Latin implicō (“enfold, involve, be connected with”), itself from in- + plicō (“fold”)) +‎ -ment.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/, /ɛmˈplɔɪmənt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

employment (countable and uncountable, plural employments)

1. The work or occupation for which one is used, and often paid
2. The act of employing
3. A use, purpose
   • 1873, John Stuart Mill, Autobiography of John Stuart Mill:

     This new employment of his time caused no relaxation in his attention to my education.

   The personnel director handled the whole employment procedure

4. The state of being employed
   • 1853, Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener, in Billy Budd, Sailor and Other Stories, New York: Penguin Books, 1968; reprint 1995 as Bartleby, ISBN 0 14 60.0012 9, p.3:

     At the period just preceding the advent of Bartleby, I had two persons as copyists in my employment, and a promising lad as an office-boy.

5. An activity to which one devotes time
6. (economics) The number or percentage of people at work

Synonyms

• employ
• hire

Antonyms

• disemployment
• unemployment

Derived terms

• at-will employment, at will employment
• co-employment
• employment agency
• employment at will, employment-at-will
• employment contract
• employment history
• employment tribunal
• full employment
• overemployment
• self-employment
• underemployment
• written statement of employment

 

Related terms

• employ
• employable
• employed
• employee
• employer

 

Translations

use, purpose

• Bulgarian: употре́ба (bg) f (upotréba)
• Danish: anvendelse c
• Dutch: benutting (nl), gebruik (nl) n, nut (nl) n, emplooi (nl) n
• French: emploi (fr) m
• Greek: χρήση (el) f (chrísi)
• Hungarian: felhasználás (hu), használat (hu), igénybevétel (hu), alkalmazás (hu)
• Isoko: fax
• Italian: impiego (it) m
• Japanese: 使うこと (つかうこと, tsukau koto), 使用 (ja) (しよう, shiyō)
• Korean: 사용(使用) (ko) (sayong), 이용(利用) (ko) (iyong)
• Latin: ūsus (la) m
• Malayalam: തൊഴിൽ (ml) (toḻil), ജോലി (ml) (jōli)
• Portuguese: emprego (pt) m
• Russian: примене́ние (ru) n (primenénije), испо́льзование (ru) n (ispólʹzovanije), употребле́ние (ru) n (upotreblénije)
• Swedish: användning (sv) c

the act of employing

• Belarusian: працаўладкава́нне n (pracaŭladkavánnje)
• Bulgarian: изпо́лзване (bg) n (izpólzvane)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 就業／就业 (zh) (jiùyè), 僱用／雇用 (zh) (gùyòng) or 僱傭／雇佣 (zh) (gùyōng), 雇用 (zh) (gùyòng)

• Danish: ansættelse c
• Dutch: aanwerving (nl), tewerkstelling (nl)
• Finnish: työllistäminen (fi)
• French: emploi (fr) m
• German: Anstellung (de) f
• Greek: πρόσληψη (el) f (próslipsi), εργοδοσία (el) f (ergodosía), εργοδότηση (el) f (ergodótisi)
• Hungarian: alkalmazás (hu)
• Ido: employo (io)
• Italian: assunzione (it) f
• Japanese: 雇用 (ja) (こよう, koyō)
• Korean: 사용(使用) (ko) (sayong), 고용(雇用) (ko) (goyong)
• Macedonian: вработување n (vrabotuvanje)
• Malayalam: നിയമനം (ml) (niyamanaṁ)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sysselsetting m or f

  Nynorsk: sysselsetjing f, sysselsetting f

• Portuguese: emprego (pt) m
• Russian: трудоустро́йство (ru) n (trudoustrójstvo)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: запослење, запосленост

  Roman: zaposlenje (sh), zaposlenost (sh)

• Swedish: anställning (sv) c
• Turkish: hizmet (tr)
• Ukrainian: працевлаштува́ння (uk) n (pracevlaštuvánnja)

the state of being employed

• Arabic: وَظِيفَة‎ (ar) f (waẓīfa), تَوْظِيف‎ m (tawẓīf)
• Belarusian: працаўладкава́нне n (pracaŭladkavánnje), за́нятасць f (zánjatascʹ)
• Bulgarian: занима́ние (bg) n (zanimánie), зае́тост (bg) f (zaétost)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 就業／就业 (zh) (jiùyè), 僱用／雇用 (zh) (gùyòng) or 僱傭／雇佣 (zh) (gùyōng), 雇用 (zh) (gùyòng)

• Czech: zaměstnání (cs) n
• Danish: beskæftigelse c, arbejde (da) n
• Dutch: tewerkstelling (nl)
• Finnish: työllistäminen (fi)
• French: emploi (fr) m
• Galician: emprego (gl) m
• German: Beschäftigung (de) f, Erwerbstätigkeit (de) f
• Greek: απασχόληση (el) f (apaschólisi), εργασία (el) f (ergasía)
• Hindi: नौकरी (hi) f (naukrī)
• Hungarian: alkalmazás (hu)
• Irish: fostaíocht f
• Japanese: 使われている状態 (つかわれているじょうたい, tsukawarete iru jōtai), 雇用 (ja) (こよう, koyō), 勤め (ja) (つとめ, tsutome), 勤務 (ja) (きんむ, kinmu)
• Korean: 고용(雇傭) (ko) (goyong), 근무(勤務) (ko) (geunmu)
• Macedonian: вработеност f (vrabotenost)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sysselsetting m or f

  Nynorsk: sysselsetjing f, sysselsetting f

• Pashto: استخدام‎ (ps) m (estexdãm)
• Persian: استخدام‎ (fa) (estexdâm)
• Polish: zatrudnienie (pl) n
• Portuguese: emprego (pt) m
• Russian: трудоустро́йство (ru) n (trudoustrójstvo), за́нятость (ru) f (zánjatostʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: cosnadh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: запослење, запосленост

  Roman: zaposlenje (sh), zaposlenost (sh)

• Slovak: zamestnanie n
• Slovene: zaposlitev f
• Swedish: anställning (sv) c
• Tajik: истихдом (istixdom)
• Ukrainian: працевлаштува́ння (uk) n (pracevlaštuvánnja), за́йнятість f (zájnjatistʹ)
• Urdu: نوکری‎ f (naukrī)
• Vietnamese: việc làm (vi)

the work or occupation for which one is paid

• Armenian: աշխատանք (hy) (ašxatankʿ), գործ (hy) (gorc)
• Belarusian: пра́ца (be) f (práca), рабо́та f (rabóta), слу́жба f (slúžba), заня́цце n (zanjáccje)
• Bulgarian: слу́жба (bg) f (slúžba), ра́бота (bg) f (rábota)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 職業／职业 (zh) (zhíyè), 工作 (zh) (gōngzuò)

• Czech: zaměstnání (cs) n
• Danish: arbejde (da) n
• Dutch: emplooi (nl) n, werk (nl) n, benutting (nl) n
• Finnish: ansiotyö (fi)
• French: travail (fr) m, emploi (fr) m
• German: Arbeit (de) f
• Greek: εργασία (el) f (ergasía), δουλειά (el) f (douleiá)
• Hindi: नौकरी (hi) f (naukrī), काम (hi) m (kām)
• Hungarian: állás (hu), munkaviszony (hu)
• Irish: feidhmeannas m
• Italian: impiego (it) m
• Japanese: 職 (ja) (しょく, shoku), 職業 (ja) (しょくぎょう, shokugyō), 業務 (ja) (ぎょうむ, gyōmu), 仕事 (ja) (しごと, shigoto)
• Korean: 일자리 (ko) (iljari), 직업(職業) (ko) (jigeop)
• Latin: negōtium n
• Malayalam: ജോലി (ml) (jōli), തൊഴിൽ (ml) (toḻil), പണി (ml) (paṇi)
• Portuguese: emprego (pt) m, trabalho (pt) m, serviço (pt) m
• Russian: рабо́та (ru) f (rabóta), заня́тие (ru) n (zanjátije), слу́жба (ru) f (slúžba)
• Scottish Gaelic: cosnadh m, obair (gd) f
• Slovak: zamestnanie n
• Spanish: empleo (es) m
• Swahili: ajira (sw)
• Swedish: anställning (sv) c
• Ukrainian: заня́ття n (zanjáttja), робо́та (uk) f (robóta), пра́ця (uk) f (prácja), слу́жба (uk) f (slúžba)
• Urdu: نوکری‎ f (naukrī), کام‎ m (kām)
• Vietnamese: việc làm (vi)
• Welsh: cyflogaeth f

an activity to which one devotes time

• Belarusian: заня́цце n (zanjáccje)
• Bulgarian: занима́ние (bg) n (zanimánie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 活動／活动 (zh) (huódòng)

• Danish: beskæftigelse c
• Dutch: emplooi (nl) n
• Greek: εργασία (el) f (ergasía), απασχόληση (el) f (apaschólisi)
• Hungarian: elfoglaltság (hu)
• Japanese: 仕事 (ja) (しごと, shigoto), 活動 (ja) (かつどう, katsudō)
• Korean: 일 (ko) (il), 활동(活動) (ko) (hwaldong)
• Russian: заня́тие (ru) n (zanjátije)
• Swedish: sysselsättning (sv) c
• Ukrainian: заня́ття n (zanjáttja)

the number or percentage of people at work

• Belarusian: за́нятасць f (zánjatascʹ)
• Czech: zaměstnanost f
• Danish: beskæftigelsesgrad c
• Dutch: tewerkstellingsgraad (nl) (proportion), tewerkstellingscijfer (number)
• Finnish: työllisyys (fi)
• Hungarian: foglalkoztatás (hu), foglalkoztatottság (hu)
• Italian: occupazione (it) m
• Japanese: 就業人口 (しゅうぎょうじんこう, shūgyōjinkō)
• Korean: 취업률(就業率) (chwieomnyul), 고용 상황(雇傭狀況) (goyong sanghwang)
• Russian: за́нятость (ru) f (zánjatostʹ)
• Slovak: zamestnanosť f
• Swedish: sysselsättningsgrad (sv) c (proportion), sysselsättningstal n (number)
• Ukrainian: за́йнятість f (zájnjatistʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} Gebrauch (de), ^{(please verify)} Benützung