•1
1 Social exclusion and the contemporary labour market
uphenomenon of social exclusion
u
u - dynamic nature (it is a process)
u - multidimensional character (it has multiple causes and affects multiple spheres of life)
u - “relational” character (it makes itself most felt in social relations)
u
u the determining factors accumulate and overlap and are also transferred inter-generationally
u
u Giddens (1998: 104) exclusion is not about gradation of inequality, but about mechanisms that act
to detach people from the social mainstream
u
u

•2
Social exclusion
u Insufficient involvement in the systems of production, family life, life of the community and
political life,
u as well as access to basic civil rights, including the right to political and religious beliefs,
u cultural/national identity and recognition within civic society,
u involvement in cultural activities and,
u last but not least, in sharing social rights, including the right to access social institutions,
education and health care, to enjoy social protection and to be able to secure housing
u
uSen (1983) - poverty as people’s inadequate capacity/ability to attain certain set of commodities,
the specific interpretation of what “inadequate” means (the range of commodities) will differ from
society to society
u hence also the configuration of areas and factors that represent the causes and content of the
process of social exclusion are culturally and socially conditioned
u

•3
Labour market exclusion
uparticipation in the labour market is crucial:
u Durkheim (1893) shortage of work brings about a danger of separation from the mainstream life
style and culture. Work means mutual co-operation and inclusion of individuals into broader social
networks that lay the foundations of integration and solidarity.
u Dahrendorf (1991) and Bauman (1998) curtailed participation in the labour market and in systems
of production to be major sources of social exclusion, since in the society of “producers” or
“consumers”
u Giddens (1998: 102), social inclusion “...refers in its broadest sense to citizenship, to the
civil and political rights and obligations that all members of a society should have, not just
formally, but as a reality of their lives. It also refers to opportunities and to involvement in
public space. In a society where work remains central to self-esteem and standard of living, access
to work is one main context of opportunity.”
u Fitzpatrick (2001: 91) reverse consequences of social exclusion
u detachment of individuals from social bonds and contacts reduces individuals’ “social capital”,
deepens their material deprivation and bars even further their access to the labour market.

•4
Labour market problems
uaccess to paid employment is becoming ever more insecure, while social consequences of this
insecurity increasingly differentiate
uprocesses of technological change and modernisation lead to the substitution of work with capital,
and, also to the substitution of nonqualified work with qualified work (cf. Gual 1996)
uglobalisation of economic competition and related high mobility of capital increase pressures on
cutting down on labour costs (cf. Jordan 1999; Standing 1999; Beck 2000; Heery, Salmon 2000).

•5
Social exclusion indicators
 ++ the best quartile -- the worst quartile (of 25 EU)
DK
GER
UK
PORT
SK
CR
risk of poverty
+
+
-
- -
--
++
poverty gap
++
+
-
-
--
++
deprivation in seven selected dimensions
+
-
+
- -
-
-
long-term unemployment women
++
-
++
+
--
-
long-term unemployment men
++
--
+
+
--
-
unemployment 15 - 24 years
++
+
+
+
--
-
unemployment 15 - 24 let, women
++
++
+
+
--
+
unemployment 15 - 24 let, men
++
+
+
+
--
-
persons in inactive households
+
-
- -
++
-
+
children in inactive households
+
-
- -
+
--
+
persons leaving education early women (19-24 years, only elementary education)
+
-
- -
- -
++
++
persons leaving education early men (19-24 years, only elementary education)
+
+
-
- -
++
++