Health Effects of Job Displacement Among Older Workers

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In the last two decades, older workers have represented an increasing proportion of the displaced workers in the U.S. Displaced workers are workers who experience involuntary loss of a permanent job, due to either business closing or layoff. Although the impact of job displacement on earnings is well established, the health effects of displacement among older workers in the U.S remain largely unknown. The broad objective of the proposed research is to examine the health consequences of job displacement among older workers in the U.S. The specific aims are to: 1) assess the effect of job displacement on subsequent physical disability and mental health, and investigate the persistence of observed effects; 2) assess the impact of re-employment and jobless duration on physical disability and mental health; and 3) examine the effect of job displacement on reports of disease onset. Using data from the first three waves of the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS), a nationally representative sample of older workers in the U.S., multivariate, longitudinal techniques will be used to investigate each aim. Physical disability will be measured using a composite score derived from self reports of difficulties with activities of daily living and mobility tasks. Mental health will be assessed using available items from the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale. Onset of disease will be measured by self-reported myocardial infarction, high blood pressure, and cancer. The proposed analyses build on the Investigators' previous examinations of the health effects of job displacement among older workers using data from the first two waves of the HRS. In addition, these proposed analyses are an important component of the Investigators' longer term goal of examining and explaining variations in the health effects of job displacement among older workers in comparable data sets in other countries. The larger goal of exploring cross-national comparisons will be the aim of a future application for national funding and is planned as the next step in the Investigators' research.