Health hazards of unemployment - only a boom phenomenon? A study of young men and women during times of prosperity and times of recession

Background. It has been suggested that high unemployment rates in society m ay be less harmful to the health of people than low unemployment rates. The refore, a study was carried out to compare, among young men and women, the relationship between hearth and long-term unemployment during periods of ra pid economic growth 'boom' and economic recession. Methods. Two study groups were chosen at age 21 y (5 y after compulsory sch ooling ended) from an industrial town in northern Sweden. The first group ( number 1083) was chosen and surveyed in 1986 (under 'boom' conditions); the second (number 898) was chosen in 1994 (under economic recession condition s). The non-response rate was 2% for the boom group and 10% for the recessi on group. The main outcome measurements examined were somatic and psycholog ical symptoms. Results: Health criteria for general health among long-term unemployed youn g men and women did not differ between the group surveyed in boom condition s and the group surveyed in recession conditions. The only exception was fo r psychological symptoms, which scored lower among the men in the recession group. Individual unemployment had a high explanatory power for poor healt h, in particular, psychological ill health. Conclusions: When comparing periods of boom and recession there was no diff erence in somatic and psychological symptoms for those who were long-term u nemployed. Thus, the trade cycle appeared to have had no impact on their he alth.