The 1990s have been a decade of significant economic change in the structure of national economies in North America. Patterns of cyclical unemployment, a decline in the vitality of various economic sectors and resulting plant closings and downsizing have contributed to unprecedented high and prolonged unemployment rates.
Unemployment has a pervasive and pernicious impact on health.
The stresses and strains that accompany the loss of a job erode an individual's physical and mental health. Moreover, there is a multiplier effect that has consequences for the health of other family members. There now appears to be sufficient knowledge about the relationship between unemployment and health to suggest the kinds of strategies that are needed at individual, corporate and societal levels to alter the health consequences of unemployment. Highlights from the Literature Numerous studies in different countries confirm that job loss is a significant factor in physical and mental health problems. The association between unemployment and premature mortality emerges with remarkable consistency whether aggregate data or individual data is examined.