According to the ILO and Eurostat, the
unemployed comprise all persons above a specified age who, during the reference period,:
- were without work, that is, did not have paid employment or self-employment;
- were available for work, that is, were available for paid employment or self-employment;
- were seeking work, that is, had taken specific steps in a specified recent period to seek paid employment or self-employment.
In all cases, in order for an individual to be considered unemployed, he or she must be available for work.
(adapted from the International Labour Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
Unemployed, visited 2011-07-05)
"The technical definitions of the
unemployed are set by state unemployment offices to facilitate identification of individuals for the purpose of determining whether they qualify for unemployment benefits under state laws."
(Roberts, H.,
Roberts' Dictionary of Industrial Relations, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1994)
Unemployed workers do not include strikers or locked-out workers unless they do not plan to return to their old job and are currently looking for another one.
"Millions of Americans move into and out of each labor force category (employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force) every month. Generally, about half of the people who are unemployed in one month are no longer unemployed the next, some finding jobs and others ending their job search for other reasons. These people are then replaced by newly unemployed persons. Short-term unemployment is quite normal in a dynamic economy and, within limits, is necessary for the normal functioning of the job search process."
(Rones, P.,
Recent Recessions Swell Ranks of the Long-Term Unemployed, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, visited 2010-02-16)