Strong Correlation Between Unemployment & Mortality Revealed

McGill University (Canada) researchers, working in collaboration with colleagues from Stony Brook University (New York, USA), surveyed existing research covering 20 million people in 15 (mainly western) countries, over the last 40 years, and found that unemployment increases the risk of premature mortality by 63%.  As well, the team revealed that, in spite of expectations that a better health-care system might contribute to lower mortality rates, the correlation between unemployment and a higher risk of death was the same in all the countries covered by the study. The research also showed that unemployment increases men’s mortality risk more than it does women’s mortality risk (78% vs. 37% , respectively), with risk of death particularly high for those who are under the age of 50 years.