Unga arbetslösa i en individualiserad tid : En kvalitativ studie av hur unga arbetslösa ser på sin situation

Sammanfattning: The aim of our research was to study how youths (age 16-24) experience being unemployed today. We wanted to examine if and how an individualized society affects the youths when it comes to unemployment and job searching, their ideas and thoughts of the causes for being unemployed, and how they experienced their participation in a labour market project. We used a qualitative method with semi structured interviews for the study. Altogether we interviewed six individuals who participated in a labour market project in the south Sweden. We found that the youths expressed feelings of worry and frustration about their situation as unemployed. At the same time all youths expressed that they were very satisfied with their participation in the labour market project in question. They felt support and encouragement. We noted however that all of them mainly blamed themselves for not having a job. Questions arose if this can be seen as a possible outcome from an individualized society where individuals are very much accountable for their own welfare and wellbeing. At the same time most of them responded that they were not willing to accept any job, and that the primary goal was rather to feel a sense of purpose with the work they wanted, and to feel like they were doing something worthwhile. It is possible that the impact of individualization gave them the belief that opportunities in front of them were unendless, and that they could become anything they wanted.