Among the employed, those in poor health are much less likely to report a promotion or a new, better job in the past year, he said. People who report fair or poor health are more likely to have jobs with high demands and low autonomy and work in environments with high levels of crime or noise, Yelin added. In addition, they are more likely to earn poverty-level wages and to lack pension plans or health insurance. Among people employed in 1999, those in fair or poor health were more than twice as likely as those in better health to lose their jobs by the time they were re-interviewed in 2000, even after taking into account age, gender and race, explained Yelin. The researchers reported that people with symptoms associated with depression have low rates of employment and, among those who are employed, poorer working conditions and lower earnings.
Job loss can also lead to symptoms of depression.
Among people who did not show symptoms of depression in 1999, those who lost their jobs between 1999 and 2000 were more than twice as likely to develop symptoms by 2000 than those who did not lose jobs, he explained. The survey also found that even with California's high rate of employment, the longest expansion since World War II has not depleted the supply of workers available to be hired by the state's employers. These findings call into question the notion that there are no workers available with the requisite skills and experience. Almost 10 percent of those employed work 55 hours a week or more, and 12 percent of Californians report holding more than one job. Two-thirds of California's households with two or more adults report more than one wage earner.