This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (19) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Gallie, D. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Are the Unemployed an Underclass? Some Evidence from the Social Change and Economic Life Initiative

This paper examines the relevance of the concept of an `underclass' for understanding the situation and experiences of the unemployed, focusing in particular on the long-term unemployed. It draws on survey data from six British local labour markets, collected as part of the Social Change and Economic Life Initiative. It distinguishes two versions of the underclass thesis, a `conservative' and a `radical' version. It argues that past work history experiences and the current attitudes to work of the unemployed fail to fit the assumptions of the conservative thesis, while the socio-political attitudes of the unemployed differ from those that would be expected in terms of the radical thesis. It concludes that the concept of underclass veils the close interconnection between unemployment and the employment structure.

Key Words: unemployment • underclass • work histories • work attitudes • social deprivation • political attitudes

Sociology, Vol. 28, No. 3, 737-757 (1994)
DOI: 10.1177/0038038594028003006


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Warren Conceptualizing breadwinning work Work Employment Society, June 1, 2007; 21(2): 317 - 336. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. Scourfield and M. Drakeford New Labour and the `problem of men' Critical Social Policy, November 1, 2002; 22(4): 619 - 640. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. A. Fieldhouse Ethnic Minority Unemployment and Spatial Mismatch: The Case of London Urban Stud, August 1, 1999; 36(9): 1569 - 1596. [Abstract] [PDF]

				H. Russell Friends in Low Places: Gender, Unemployment and Sociability Work Employment Society, June 1, 1999; 13(2): 205 - 224. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. van Kempen and A. sule Ozuekren Ethnic Segregation in Cities: New Forms and Explanations in a Dynamic World Urban Stud, October 1, 1998; 35(10): 1631 - 1656. [Abstract] [PDF]