“You're a Nobody When You're Unemployed”: Exploring the Content of Unemployed People's Stereotype

Abstract

Unemployed people bear a stigma that builds on the stereotype of ‘the unemployed’ and is associated with many adverse outcomes. No study has used the dimensions and facets of the latest integrated stereotype framework to describe their stereotype and compare it with other groups. In Study 1 among university students (n = 241), we show that unemployed people are rated lower than employed people on the horizontal and the vertical dimensions of their stereotypes, as well as on the facets of ability, assertiveness, morality and friendliness. We show that unemployed people are also rated the lowest when compared to a high-high occupation (firefighters) and a low-low occupation (railroad workers). In Study 2, we replicate these findings with university students (n = 193) and show that unemployed people are also blatantly dehumanised when compared to the same targets. In Study 3, we show that vocational integration workers (n = 123) also rate unemployed people lower than employed people on both dimensions and facets, but not on morality. Overall, we conclude that unemployed people have a highly destructive stereotype that is lacking in every dimension and facet, and that they are overly despised.