Perceived job insecurity and health: the Michigan Recession and Recovery Study.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between perceived job insecurity in the next 12 months and current health with a sample representing working-aged employed adults in southeast Michigan in late 2009/early 2010 (n, 440 to 443).

METHODS

Logistic regression was used to compare the health of participants who perceived job insecurity with those who did not, with adjustments for objective employment problems and social characteristics.

RESULTS

Insecure workers were more likely to report fair or poor self-rated health (odds ratio [OR], 2.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14 to 6.32), symptoms suggesting major or minor depression (OR, 6.76; 95% CI, 3.34 to 13.3), and anxiety attacks (OR, 3.73; 95% CI, 1.40 to 9.97), even after correction for confounding factors.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence that perceived job insecurity may be linked to health even among those who avoided unemployment in the late-2000s recession.