LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT - THEORY AND ACTION

Long-term unemployment is a category for political action and not a th eoretical notion. Nevertheless, taking into account the actual length of unemployment has led to important theoretical adjustments in our re flection on the job market. Analysing long-term unemployment as a comp lex social and economic universe means that the reference basis of aut omatic adjustment between job supply and demand based on a price on a price balance, or salary, is questioned, and results in the importance being granted to the actors and regulations which give the structure to these already-constructed systems: strategies for the umemployed to remain on the job market and to fight against losing their qualificat ions; institutional interventions by public services in employment, vi a benefit management or the structuring of the job market; the role of intermediaries in activating the systems of qualification and employm ent procedures working with job supply and demand. These social and in stitutional dimensional thus appear to be the main organisers of the j ob market.