Stories of Being Unemployed 2018

The dataset consists of 165 texts on experiences of being unemployed in Finland. The texts are written in varying styles and lengths. Data collection was conducted in collaboration by the Finnish Literature Society and Lena Näre. The invitation to write directed the participants to write about their own experiences of unemployment or how they had experienced the unemployment of someone close to them. Main themes in many of the texts included the reasons behind unemployment, such as sickness, temporary layoffs, and job contract terminations. The texts described everyday life during unemployment and how becoming employed again had affected the participants' quality of life. Employment services were also discussed in the writings. The Finnish activation model for unemployment security was still in effect during data collection (repealed at the beginning of 2020), so the writers were able to discuss their experiences relating to the model. Background information included the participant's name or pseudonym, occupation, year of birth, area of residence and gender. The data were organised into an easy to use HTML version at FSD. The dataset is only available in Finnish.