The long-lasting impact of unemployment on life satisfaction: results of a longitudinal study over 20\xa0years in East Germany

Ernst Peter Richter,Yve Stöbel-Richter,Elmar Brähler,Hendrik Berth,Markus Zenger

doi:10.1186/s12955-020-01608-5

Abstract

BackgroundEconomic disruption in East Germany at the time of reunification (1990) resulted in a noticeable increase in unemployment. The present study provides data from a German cohort for over 20 years. The aim was to examine how the frequency of experiencing unemployment affects life satisfaction and whether their relationship changes over time.MethodsIn the Saxon Longitudinal Study, an age-homogeneous sample was surveyed annually from 1987 to 2016. Since 1996, 355 people (54% female) have been examined for issues related to unemployment. Life satisfaction was measured with both the Global Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Questions on Life SatisfactionModules questionnaire.ResultsIn 1996, the participants were 23 years old and 50% of the sample was affected by unemployment. At all 16 different measuring points, participants who were never unemployed indicated higher life satisfaction than those who were once unemployed. The repeatedly unemployed consistently reported the lowest values of life satisfaction. In each year, there were significant differences with small to medium effect sizes.ConclusionOur results support the notion that the adverse effects of unemployment on life satisfaction increase with the time spent unemployed. In 2016, only 2% of the cohort were currently unemployed, but differences between people with and without unemployment experience still exist. This indicates that the negative effect of the unemployment experience will last for a very long time. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates the effect so persistently at so many measurement points for over 20 years.

Highlights

Economic disruption in East Germany at the time of reunification (1990) resulted in a noticeable increase in unemployment
We annually examined the link between life satisfaction and the frequency of experienced unemployment by using a large cohort from the Saxon longitudinal study
Our results support the assumption that the negative influence of unemployment increases with its frequency, as several times, the unemployed reported the lowest and the never unemployed the highest levels of life satisfaction

Summary

Introduction

Economic disruption in East Germany at the time of reunification (1990) resulted in a noticeable increase in unemployment. The aim was to examine how the frequency of experiencing unemployment affects life satisfaction and whether their relationship changes over time. Unemployment is strongly associated with an increased risk of morbidity, mortality, mental health problems, and lower life satisfaction levels. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in spring 2020, Richter et al Health Qual Life Outcomes (2020) 18:361 to the closure of many state-owned enterprises, resulting in massive job losses. The following unemployment rates were much higher than in West Germany. Over 2 million people (5.3%) were unemployed in February 2017 in Germany. The differences between the East German states (7.0%) and the old West German states (4.9%) are significant [4]

Methods

Results

Conclusion