What the Press Reveals About "The Unemployed": A Lexicometric Analysis of 12,996 Articles from French Written Newspapers from 2005 to 2022

Unemployed people face a stigmatizing representation leading to adverse outcomes. Its origin, content, evolution, and transmission remain understudied. We use a lexicometric method to examine how “the unemployed” are represented in 12,996 French press articles from 2005 to 2022. First, unemployed people represent 0.03% of all articles published during the study period. Second, we identify six mostly disembodied frames that reflect activation policies and almost exclusively individualize the cause of unemployment: unemployed people as statistics and economic data, political debates on unemployment, implementation of unemployment policies, local and organizational support, personal stories and realities of unemployment, and collective actions. Only the frame of personal stories correlates with unemployment rate, suggesting increased humanization during economic crises. Third, when depicted, unemployed individuals are portrayed as persevering and willing poor men in need of guidance and support, who adhere to a strong social norm to work and take personal responsibility for their situation.