Heterogeneity in the Unemployment Experience: A Cluster Analytic Investigation

Two hundred forty‐seven unemployed individuals completed a battery of scales assessing constructs relevant to the unemployment situation. These constructs included: financial situation, employment commitment, job‐seeking confidence, time structure, mental health, cognitive impairment, physical symptoms, and unemployment negativity (how upset an individual is about being unemployed). The results on a subset of these variables were cluster analyzed to assess whether the unemployed individuals in this sample formed meaningful subtypes. The cluster analysis revealed four distinct subtypes of unemployed individuals. The subtypes that were identified can help us to understand the heterogeneity inherent in the unemployment experience. The differences among the subtypes also have implications for designing outplacement and intervention workshops for the unemployed.