[martneumann]

You're right. It's a societal, imagined instability.

In the US, if you lose your job, you're "between jobs". In Germany, you're "arbeitslos" (jobless), which some people use as an insult. There are entire TV channels that make fun of jobless people - think TLC type shows, but strictly about poverty and joblessness.

[sdoering]

There is also the term "arbeitssuchen" (= "looking for work"). It depends a little bit on the way one looks at it.

But being "arbeitslos" ("jobless") is really a stigma in Germany. At least I feel a significant share of people see it that way.