Definition

1. Noun:
   • A government or public agency: An employment office is an official organization, typically operated by a government or public authority, whose primary function is to assist people in finding jobs and to help employers find suitable workers.
   • A service for job matching: It serves as a central point where job seekers can register, receive counseling, and access job listings, and where employers can list vacancies to find qualified candidates.

Usage

• As a subject:

  • The employment office has a new list of available positions.
  • Our local employment office offers free resume workshops.

• As an object:

  • She registered at the employment office after graduating.
  • The company posted the job opening through the state employment office.

• With prepositions:

  • He found his current job through the employment office.
  • Information about the program is available at the employment office.

Advanced Usage

• "to go down to the employment office": a common informal phrase meaning to visit the employment office to seek work or information.
  • After the factory closed, many workers had to go down to the employment office.

Variants and Related Words

• Job center (n): A modern term, often used in the UK and other countries, for a government office providing similar employment services.

  • The job center helped him update his CV.

• Career center (n): Often associated with schools or universities, focusing on career counseling and job placement for students and alumni.

  • The university's career center hosts annual job fairs.

• Unemployment office (n): A term sometimes used interchangeably, though it can emphasize services for the unemployed.

  • He filed his claim at the unemployment office.

Synonyms

• Job agency: An agency, which can be public or private, that matches job seekers with employers.
• Labor exchange: An older term for a public employment service.

Related Phrases

• Employment services: A broader term for the range of assistance provided, including counseling, training, and job placement.
  • The department provides comprehensive employment services.

Notes on Meaning

• The core meaning focuses on the public service aspect of connecting labor supply and demand. It is not typically used for private recruiting firms or headhunters.
• In some regions, this term may be considered somewhat dated, with terms like "job center" or "workforce development center" being more contemporary.

Noun

1. an agency that finds people to fill particular jobs or finds jobs for unemployed people