The Dynamics of Unemployment

Abstract

The authors outline the results of a descriptive study in which people's experiences of unemployment were investigated. People who had been unemployed for a minimum of 3 months were interviewed. The authors examined the data for patterns of response and compared any patterns found with those suggested in a model developed by Amundson and Borgen (1982). The sample included adult men and women and young people. Analysis of the data indicated three distinct patterns in experiences of unemployment. Twenty‐nine men and women described an experience of unemployment that resembles Amundson and Borgen's roller coaster model. Women who were secondary wage earners constituted a second pattern and the young people in the sample described a third distinct pattern in the experience of unemployment. The results are described in terms of their implications for career and employment counseling and further research studies.