The previous studies found that women and low-income households were more likely to experience unemployment prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is no cohort study to examine the relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this prospective cohort study is to examine the relationship between sociodemographic factors and unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. We surveyed the socioeconomic status, personal characteristics, and occupation of recruited workers at baseline (22–25 December 2020); subsequent unemployment was examined at follow-up (18–19 February 2021). We determined the odds ratio of unemployment by sociodemographic status and occupation. The multivariate model was adjusted for sex and age. Among the 19,941 participants, 725 (3.6%) had experienced unemployment. Multivariate analysis showed significant high unemployment amongst women and participants of younger age, bereaved or divorced, unmarried, of lower income, or with short educational background. By occupation, the unemployment rate of temporary or contract employees and self-employed is high. COVID-19 expelled socially vulnerable groups from employment. This suggests the need for employment and economic support for such individuals.
Background: This study examined the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and subsequent unemployment. Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted using a self-administrated questionnaire in Japan. SES, personal characteristics, and occupation of recruited workers were surveyed at baseline (December 22-25, 2020); subsequent unemployment was examined at follow-up (February 18-19, 2021). We determined the odds ratios (ORs) of unemployment for SES and other variables using a multilevel logistic model. Results: Among all 19,941 participants, 2.3% reported experience of unemployment through negative reasons. Multivariate analysis showed the OR and 95% confidence interval for unemployment associated with age to be 0.66 (0.47-0.92) for 30-39 years, 0.36 (0.25-0.51) for 40-49, 0.36 (0.25-0.53) for 50-59, and 0.43 (0.27-0.67) for more than 60 compared with 20-29 years. The association with annual household income was 2.96 (1.94-4.50) for <2 million yen and 1.51 (1.03-2.22) for 2-4 million yen compared with >10 million yen. The association with marital status was 1.43 (1.04-1.98) for bereaved/divorced compared with married (working spouse). The association with occupation was 1.75 (1.35-2.29) for temporary or contract employees and 2.11 (1.04-4.30) for agriculture, forestry, or fishing compared with general employees. The association with job type was 1.69 (1.34-2.15) for mainly manual labor. Conclusion: We observed a relationship between SES and subsequent unemployment under COVID-19. It is necessary to provide broad, ongoing support in the form of both short-term assistance and long-term job training and health care.
Background: We examined the relationship between sociodemographic factors, including occupation and unemployment, among workers during COVID-19 in Japan.Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study using a self-administrated questionnaire. We surveyed the socioeconomic status, personal characteristics, and occupation of recruited workers at baseline (December 22–25, 2020); subsequent unemployment was examined at follow-up (February 18-19, 2021). We determined the odds ratio (OR) of unemployment for sociodemographic status and occupation. The multivariate model was adjusted for sex and age.Results: Among the 19,941 participants, 725 (3.6%) had experienced unemployment. Multivariate analysis showed that the OR and 95% confidence interval (CI) of unemployment associated with sex were 1.35 (1.14–1.60) for women compared with men. With increasing age, the OR for unemployment was lower (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.97–0.99; P <0.001), adjusted for sex. The OR and 95% CI for the association with marital status were as follows: 1.33 (1.03–1.71) for being married (spouse not working); 2.09 (1.65–2.64) for bereaved or divorced; and 1.29 (1.07–1.56) for unmarried compared with married (spouse working). The respective figures for the association with annual household income were as follows: 4.05 (3.00–5.46) for <2 million yen; 2.12 (1.62–2.78) for 2–4 million yen; and 1.46 (1.11–1.93) for 4–6 million yen, compared with >10 million yen. The figures for the association with education were 1.73 (1.12–2.66) for junior high or high school and 1.83 (1.19–2.83) for vocational school, junior college, or technical school. The association with occupation was 2.01 (1.63–2.48) for temporary or contract employees, 1.35 (1.02–1.78) for self-employed, and 3.02 (1.68–5.42) for agriculture, forestry, or fishing, compared with general employees; it was 0.56 (0.40–0.79) for public employees, faculty members, or non-profit organization employees. The association with job type was 1.25 (1.04–1.51) for jobs mainly involving interpersonal communication and 1.85 (1.55–2.21) for mainly manual or physical labor, compared with mainly desk work.Conclusions: COVID-19 appears to have created difficulties for previously vulnerable groups. This suggests the need for employment and economic support for such individuals.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.