Do the Danes feel Affected by the Recession?

Only 35 percent of 100 participants answered “yes” to the question about whether they felt affected by the recession, whereas 65 percent answered “No”.

All the participants who answered “yes” believe that they are more mentally affected by the recession, rather than physically affected by it. They all agreed upon the fact that the main reason why they feel affected by the recession is their fear of either loosing their jobs or that it might be very difficult for them to find a job in the near future.

“I feel mentally affected by the fact that there is a recession [sic] ” (appendix, question 5, p.19, “Yes”, line 9)

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Some of the participants believe that the media causes this mass hysteria about the recession. The constant talk about staff cuts and how difficult it is to find a job creates insecurity and a bad atmosphere among the employees at work. However, it is not only the people who have already lost their jobs or who are afraid of loosing their jobs due to staff cuts who are affected by the recession, it is also students who have just graduated or who are going to graduate in the near future. Many students do not feel motivated to finish their degree, because they are concerned about their job situation. Many of the students also point out that they have had difficulties finding a relevant student job after the recession, because all the jobs are given to the fully-fledged with a lot more job experience. This is a very big problem, because it creates a vicious circle for the students, which can be very hard to break. According to the companies, you need to have a lot of relevant job experience in order to be qualified for the job, but it is very difficult for the students to get if all the student jobs are given to the fully-fledged.

“ It is difficult to find a job. All the student jobs are given to the fully-fledged. This way the students never get a chance”

(Own translation: See appendix question 5, p. 20, “Yes”, line 26)

The unsecure job- situation does not only mentally affect the Danish population, but also the Danish companies and thereby the Danish economy. The majority of the respondents mentioned that they are more cautious about what they are spending their money on now and that they are saving up money for a rainy day. Additionally, the respondents all agree upon the fact that staple goods such as food have become more expensive after the recession.

However, a significant part of the respondents are not affected by recession: 65 percent of the respondents answered “No” when they were asked the question “Do you feel affected by the recession?”. The majority of the respondents who answered “No” are either on a State education grant or they feel very safe in their job situation. Many of them have had the same job for years and are not afraid of loosing it. They do however mention that they are aware of the fact how difficult the job situation is in Denmark at the moment and that they would probably have difficulties finding a new job if they were to loose their current job.

The students and the people with a safe and steady job have not changed their purchasing habits because they are still receiving the same amount of money each month.

One of the main reasons these particular students do not feel affected by recession like the previous students I mentioned above, is because the majority of these students are at the beginning of their studies, whereas the previous students are about to finish their studies. Despite the fact that both students get the same amount of money from the State education grant, the Master students feel more mentally affected by the recession because they are aware of the fact that they are going to enter “the real world” very soon and they do not know what is awaiting them. Many of them are afraid of being caught in the unemployment insurance fund’s spider web. The students doing their Bachelor’s degree on the other hand do not worry about the future yet. They still have 2 " - 4 "

years left of their studies and are all hoping for the economic situation in Denmark to change by the time they finish their degree. One of the respondents does however mention that even though he or she is not directly affected by the recession, it does have an indirectly effect. The respondent e.g.

mentions that he or she is worried that the Government will cut the State education grant.

“I feel more affected by the uncertainty of the Government´s plans about cutting the State education grant. It will affect my economy if they did that!”

(Own Translation: See appendix question 5, p. 21, “No”, line 34)

Furthermore, the majority of the respondents who are receiving a State education grant all agree upon the fact that they are used to not having that much money by the hand and live on a low budget.

“As a student I must say that having a lot of money by hand has never been a problem. SO, I have always been used to saving and been economically [sic] ”

(See appendix question 5, p. 20, “No”, line 18)

“I´m a student, so it´s not like my economics fell apart as I don´t have a real income[sic] ” (See appendix question 5, p. 21, “No”, line 46)

Additionally, there were a few respondents who claimed that they are not affected by the recession even though they are receiving money from the unemployment insurance fund.

“I have not made any investments and I have chosen to be unemployed myself”

(Own translation: See appendix, p. 20, “No”, line 8)

“I earn good money though the industry has been affected hard. I was not not affected [sic] ” (See appendix, p. 21, “No”, line 29)