breathing space vs layoff

breathing space

noun
  • A rest, pause, or respite. 

  • Enough distance so that one can feel unfettered. 

  • Sufficient space or a span of time in which to recover one's breath. 

layoff

noun
  • A period of time when someone is unavailable for work. 

  • A dismissal of employees from their jobs because of tightened budgetary constraints or work shortage (not due to poor performance or misconduct). 

  • A short pass that has been rolled in front of another player for them to kick. 

  • A bet that is laid off, i.e. placed with another bookmaker in order to reduce risk. 

How often have the words breathing space and layoff occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )