Glossary:Unemployment
An unemployed person is defined by Eurostat, according to the guidelines of the International Labour Organization, as:
- someone aged 15 to 74;
- not employed during the reference week according to the definition of employment;
- currently available for work, i.e. available for paid employment or self-employment before the end of the 2 weeks following the reference week;
- actively seeking work, i.e. had either carried out activities in the four-week period ending with the reference week to seek paid employment or self-employment or found a job to start within a period of at most 3 months from the end of the reference week.
The unemployment rate is the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the labour force.