| Abstract: | In this paper we present the results of a longitudinal studyin public opinion on unemployed people during the period 1975–87.The study relates to 1) opinions on the extent to which socialsecurity laws are abused, 2) the degree of condemnation of suchabuse, and 3) the image projected on the unemployed. In theyears up to 1980 public opinion was rather negative, but a strikingimprovement accompanied the marked increase in unemploymentrates during the early 1980s. As unemployment dropped duringthe second half of the 1980s public opinion regarding the unemployedseemed to deteriorate again. |
