Long term unemployed workers improve their lifestyle

Unemployed people have more ill health and stress than the employed. It is unclear whether this is caused by unemployment or whether people with poor health are at a higher risk of unemployment. In a prospective study of a socioeconomically homogeneous group of middle aged male construction workers, Leino-Arjas et al (p 600) showed that when occupational history and marital status were accounted for, men were more likely to be unemployed long term owing to poor mental health, smoking, and high alcohol consumption. Mental stress both predated unemployment and was increased by it. Men who were unemployed long term reported fewer incident diseases than the rest of the cohort. Contrary to common belief, the unemployed men improved their lifestyle by taking more exercise and drinking less, though body mass index increased.

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Relevant Article

Predictors and consequences of unemployment among construction workers: prospective cohort study

Päivi Leino-Arjas, Juha Liira, Pertti Mutanen, Antti Malmivaara, and Esko Matikainen
BMJ 1999 319: 600-605. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]