Yesterday, the BLS reported that unemployment rose from 3.5 to 4.4 percent and it is widely believed that this number will at least double next time around.
For working families, unnemployment and the resulting financial shock threatens their ability to meet basic needs like food and shelter. Another very troubling correlate of unemployment is the effect on mental health. There is already research showing the unemployed, especially the long-term unemployed, have higher incidences of depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
Some economist have gathered very current data from low-wage workers in New York city who lost hours and jobs right at the onset of the pandemic (March 2020). These workers had families, including young children. The findings relating to the mental health of the adults and children are very somber.
Policymakers should be preparing for, not only an economic, but also a mental health, allout from this crisis.
For working families, unnemployment and the resulting financial shock threatens their ability to meet basic needs like food and shelter. Another very troubling correlate of unemployment is the effect on mental health. There is already research showing the unemployed, especially the long-term unemployed, have higher incidences of depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
Some economist have gathered very current data from low-wage workers in New York city who lost hours and jobs right at the onset of the pandemic (March 2020). These workers had families, including young children. The findings relating to the mental health of the adults and children are very somber.
The share of parents who felt anxious or depressed all day rose from 6 percent over the first month of our study to 10 percent last week, a 67 percent increase in severe mental health symptoms. Children, too, felt worse; the share exhibiting what developmental psychologists call externalizing behaviors, a measure of child mental health, increased from 14- to 20 percent, a 42 percent increase.
Policymakers should be preparing for, not only an economic, but also a mental health, allout from this crisis.
