Being unemployed early on in a career can have a lasting
negative effect on later employment.
Department for Education analysis shows that people who are
“not in employment, education or training” on leaving school have a very high
risk of remaining unemployed in the medium term (five years) and have a greater
risk than their peers of unemployment and lower wages in the long term (up to
10 years on).
The jobless are more likely to suffer from long-term
illness, mental illness and cardiovascular disease. They have a much higher use
of medication and worse prognosis and recovery rates. In every social group,
unemployed people have higher mortality rates than the employed.
These negative health effects tend to be the greatest among
the long-term unemployed. Being without a job for a long time can deprive you
of the feeling of control over your life that is an essential protective
feature of good health. Being out of work results in the loss of a core role in
society, linked to a sense of identity, and may reduce social integration and
lower self-esteem.
Unemployment also has an impact on health behaviours. It is
associated with increased smoking, alcohol consumption and decreased physical
activity, contributing to an increased risk of serious illnesses, including
cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Employment in “good work”, such as jobs where stress levels
are well-managed, is good for health. London boroughs should seek to stimulate
employment opportunities, particularly those that help young people into work.
And employers should be supported if they invest in getting
those who are out of work back into employment. Among young people, this should
include apprenticeships and resilience training programmes.
Sir Michael Marmot is director of the UCL Institute of
Health Equity. He chaired a review commissioned by Gordon Brown into health
inequalities in England.
Source: London Evening Standard, Prof Sir Michael Jarmot, 21st
September 2012
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