Long-Term Unemployment Risks in Europe

This article discusses the changing social distribution of unemployment and long-term unemployment risks during the current financial and economic crisis. These risks are interpreted as the result of three different, overlapping forms of labour market segmentation: firstly, the institutionally stabilised polarisation between labour market insiders and outsiders; secondly, the occupational dualisation of high and low-skilled employees and occupations; and thirdly, the marginalisation of disadvantaged social groups. On the basis of EU-SILC data for 2012, it can be shown that long-term unemployment risks are especially high for low-skilled persons and occupations, single parents, migrants, and ill persons. This can be interpreted as an indicator for the occupational and social dualisation of labour markets espeically in the current crisis.