Twenty-five percent of people who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic rate their mental health as poor, according to a study on unemployment and mental health published earlier this year.

Researchers at Australia’s Edith Cowan University surveyed over 1,000 people across Europe, the U.S. and Australia, both employed and unemployed, to “better understand the correlation between unemployment and mental health and wellness during COVID-19.”

Their findings include:

• 56% of people who lost their job during COVID-19 were still unemployed.
• 36% said their mental health worsened due to joblessness and 25% rated their mental health as “poor.”
• Over 3 in 5 people experience excessive worry or fear since the pandemic – 12% report having suicidal thoughts.
• Most men and women have taken steps to improve their mental health since being unemployed with nearly 10% seeing a therapist.
• Women are most susceptible to mental health consequences of unemployment, including 43.5% who express feeling depressed, and 42.8% who have withdrawn from family and friends.
• 41.5% rated their mental health as “excellent or very good” prior to the pandemic, compared with 13.3% who had the same positive outlook while unemployed because of COVID-19.
• 77% said financial stress had increased, with women (79%) were more likely to experience financial stress than men (73%).
• Among those who lost their job during the pandemic, many reported feeling down (70%), concerned for their financial security (63%), excessively worried (61%) and exhausted or fatigued (45%).
• The habits most likely related to a decline in mental health were increased alcohol consumption and poor eating habits.
  
  

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