Unemployed in times of (the Corona) crisis: a break with responsibilization?

Abstract

In this article we investigate how the Covid-19-crisis in a Danish context have changed the experience of unemployment particularly with focus on self-responsibility. Self-responsibility or accountability connects to the ‘active turn’ in Danish labour market policies and the conctruction of the active jobseeker. Based on mixed methods design consisting of 44 semi-structured interviews with unemployed citizens conducted doing the Covid-crisis and survey data (approx. 500 respondents) we explore the self-responsibility of unemployed Danes doing Covid-19. We compare survey data with similar data (with approx. 350 respondents) collected before the crisis (2014-2015). We conclude that self-responsibility is paradoxically reversed: while self-responsibility is diminished as a result of the increased recognition of structural factors such as the pandemic and the suspension of employment rules and demands, self-responsibility increased for many in terms of greater ownership and motivation in job search. The study also indicates that especially the Covid unemployed are exempted from self-responsibility and viewed in a more dignified way.