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Employment changes during the COVID-19-pandemic and mental health: Evidence from a longitudinal study

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  • Reme, Bjørn-Atle
  • Wörn, Jonathan
  • Skirbekk, Vegard

Abstract

We report on how changes in employment during the COVID-19 pandemic affected mental health using a large Norwegian longitudinal study. In addition to showing a modest increase in symptoms of depression in the full sample, we find a substantially stronger increase in depressive symptoms among those experiencing job loss. We also present evidence on the heterogeneity of the effect across socioeconomic status, and find that while the highest educated men had the lowest risk of job loss, highly educated women experienced the strongest deterioration of mental health following job loss. Last, we investigate the mechanism and find suggestive evidence that economic worries play an important role.

Suggested Citation

  • Reme, Bjørn-Atle & Wörn, Jonathan & Skirbekk, Vegard, 2021. "Employment changes during the COVID-19-pandemic and mental health: Evidence from a longitudinal study," OSF Preprints 4nu7c, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:4nu7c
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/4nu7c
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. McManus, T. Clay & Schaur, Georg, 2016. "The effects of import competition on worker health," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 160-172.
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