Inequality in the social consequences of illness: How well do people with long-term illness fare in the British and Swedish labor markets?

The demand for unskilled labor has collapsed across industrialized societie s, including Britain and Sweden, and rates of unemployment and economic ina ctivity have increased. The result is a reduction in total employment, prim arily among men. These trends could be expected to hit particularly hard th ose people with chronic illness. The study tests two opposing hypotheses: ( 1) the increasingly flexible, deregulated labor market in Britain would res ult in an increased number of new jobs, and thus better employment opportun ities for unskilled workers, including those with chronic illness; (2) the more regulated labor market in Sweden, with the associated health and socia l policies, would provide greater opportunities for jobs and job security f or workers with chronic illness. Analysis of data on men from the British G eneral Household Survey and the Swedish Survey of Living Conditions, 1979-1 995, showed that employment rates were higher and rates of unemployment and economic inactivity were lower in Sweden than in Britain, and the differen ces in these rates across socioeconomic groups and between those with and w ithout chronic illness were smaller in Sweden. The results support the hypo thesis that active labor market policies and employment protection may incr ease the opportunities for people with chronic illness to remain in work.