Der Arbeitsmarkt der Lausitz vor dem Kohleausstieg

As an arena for the distribution of opportunities and risks for realising individual life goals, the labour market forms an important point of reference for citizens’ experiences and expectations. In Lusatia, the massive crisis of the employment system after unification overlaps with the new demands on their willingness to change and adapt that have arisen in the course of the politically decided coal phase-out. The lignite industry was then and is now at the centre of these experiences. A restrictive dynamic in the labour market has emerged from the structural collapse of this industry, long-lasting high unemployment, demographic ageing, and changes in the labour force participation of women that are only visible at a second glance. Despite massive financial support for structural change toward a post fossil economy, the crisis experiences of the post socialist transformation shape citizens’ orientations. It is important to recognise this background of experience more explicitly in order to pave the way for a successful socio-ecological transformation.