Usage Note
Chômage is the standard term for unemployment; être au chômage means to be unemployed. Les allocations chômage are unemployment benefits. The related verb chômer originally meant to be idle or to observe a holiday; a jour chômé is still used for a public holiday when businesses close.
Examples
"Le taux de chômage a légèrement baissé."
Natural Translation
The unemployment rate has dropped slightly.
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