Along with the financial difficulties joblessness can create, many Americans who lost their jobs during the recession also experienced more personal problems. Roughly four-in-ten adults (42%) who are currently unemployed or who were unemployed sometime during the recession say that family relations were strained during their time out of work. Another 40% say while they were unemployed they lost contact with close friends. These financial and relationship strains took a tangible toll on half of the unemployed; 48% say they had difficulty sleeping while without a job. About one-in-five sought professional help for depression, and 5% admit to having problems with alcohol or drugs during unemployment.
The survey and analysis of employment data document how a prolonged period of joblessness can strain household budgets, test personal relationships, force changes in career plans and erode self-confidence.
Key findings included:
- Family finances: A majority of the long-term unemployed (56%) say their family income has declined during the recession, compared with 42% who were out of work less than three months and 26% of adults who have not been unemployed since the recession began in December 2007. Overall, the long-term unemployed are also more likely to say they are in worse shape financially now than before the recession.
- Impact on relationships: Nearly half (46%) of those unemployed six months or more say joblessness has strained family relations, compared with 39% of those who were out of work for less than three months. At the same time, more than four-in-ten (43%) long-term unemployed say they lost contact with close friends
- Loss of self-respect: Nearly four-in-ten (38%) long-term unemployed report they have lost some self-respect while out of work, compared with 29% who were jobless for shorter periods of time. The long-term unemployed also are significantly more likely to say they sought professional help for depression or other emotional issues while out of work (24% vs. 10% for those unemployed less than three months).
- Impact on career goals: More than four-in-ten (43%) of the long-term unemployed say the recession will have a “big impact” on their ability to achieve their long-term career goals. Among those unemployed less than three months, 28% said being jobless would have a similarly serious impact.
- Am I in the right job? More than seven-in-ten long-term unemployed say they changed their careers or job fields or seriously thought about doing so. They also were more likely to pursue job retraining programs or other educational opportunities while out of work.
- Settling for less: Among workers who found a job after being unemployed for six months or longer, about three-in-ten (29%) say their new job is worse than the one they lost, compared with only 16% of re-employed workers who had been jobless for less than six months. In separate questions, these workers also report their new job paid less and had worse benefits than their old one.
Pessimism on the job hunt: Among adults who are currently unemployed, those who have been jobless for six months or longer are significantly more pessimistic than the short-term unemployed about their chances of finding a job as good as the one they lost.
While the long-term unemployed have suffered the most during the Great Recession, the survey found that shorter spells of unemployment also have been painful for many Americans and their families.
For example, a third of all long-term unemployed (33%) say they have had problems paying their rent or mortgage — identical to the proportion of those unemployed less than three months who experienced difficulty paying for housing. This proportion is more than double the share of Americans who have not been jobless at any point during the recession but who have had difficulty paying for housing during the recession (16%).
Related Information in Prosperity News
- Your Job Search: How to Reenergize and Find a New Job
- Career Growth: Workers Perceive Little Opportunity
- Happiness: How Happy Are We at Work? And How Productive?
- How Happy We Are With our Finances Right Now Affected by Whether We Have a Job
- Government Welfare: A Growth Industry Threatened by Government Debt Contraction
- Jobs: More Employees Leaving Their Employer Now That Economy is Improving
- How to Prepare for the Next Recession
- Spending Slows Due to Low Income Expectations
