Institute for Social Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
Institute for Social Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
Occup Environ Med. 2022 Jul;79(7):494-496. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2021-108125. Epub 2022 May 2.
Unemployment reduces health and impairs participation in important areas of life, especially for people with severe disabilities, who tend to have a longer duration of unemployment and are less likely to find new employment than their counterparts without such constraints. Our analysis examines the increase in unemployment due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic among people with and without severe disabilities in Germany.
Monthly cross-sectional data on unemployment for 2019 and 2020 were provided by the Federal Employment Agency. We used a difference-in-differences model to estimate the increase in unemployment attributable to the pandemic. The months April to December 2020 represented the months of exposure to the pandemic. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) are reported.
The increase in unemployment among people with severe disabilities due to the pandemic is 11.2% (IRR 1.112; 95% CI 1.107 to 1.117). People with severe disabilities receiving unemployment benefits due to unemployment lasting less than a year (Social Code III: short-term unemployment) and women have been most affected. Among people without severe disabilities, unemployment has increased by 24.8% due to the pandemic (IRR 1.248; 95% CI 1.246 to 1.249), while people receiving unemployment benefits according to social code III and men have been most affected. Both groups show a varying increase in unemployment depending on the region of residency.
The findings show a particularly significant increase in unemployment among people without severe disabilities. People with severe disabilities might be less impacted due to the special legal protection against their dismissal. The clear regional differences in the increase in unemployment suggest a strong influence of regional economics.
失业会降低健康水平，并影响人们参与重要生活领域，对于有严重残疾的人来说尤其如此，他们往往失业时间更长，找到新工作的可能性也低于没有这种限制的人。我们的分析考察了 COVID-19 大流行期间德国有严重残疾和无严重残疾的人失业人数的增加。
联邦就业局提供了 2019 年和 2020 年每月的失业横断面数据。我们使用差分模型来估计大流行导致的失业增加。2020 年 4 月至 12 月为接触大流行的月份。报告发病率比（IRR）。
大流行导致有严重残疾的人失业增加 11.2%（IRR 1.112；95%CI 1.107 至 1.117）。因失业持续不到一年而领取失业救济金的严重残疾者（社会法典 III：短期失业）和女性受影响最大。在没有严重残疾的人中，由于大流行，失业增加了 24.8%（IRR 1.248；95%CI 1.246 至 1.249），而受社会法典 III 规定的失业救济金和男性受影响最大。这两个群体的失业人数都根据居住地的不同而有所增加。
研究结果表明，无严重残疾的人失业人数显著增加。严重残疾的人受到的影响可能较小，因为他们受到法律的特殊保护，不会被解雇。失业人数增加的明显地区差异表明，区域经济有很大影响。
