Prospective Cohort Study of Sociodemographic and Work-Related Factors and Subsequent Unemployment under COVID-19 Pandemic

Makiko Kuroishi; Tomohisa Nagata; Ayako Hino; Seiichiro Tateishi; Akira Ogami; Mayumi Tsuji; Shinya Matsuda; Koji Mori; Yoshihisa Fujino; On Behalf Of The CORoNaWork Project

doi:10.3390/ijerph19116924

Prospective Cohort Study of Sociodemographic and Work-Related Factors and Subsequent Unemployment under COVID-19 Pandemic

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 6;19(11):6924. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19116924.

Authors

Makiko Kuroishi¹, Tomohisa Nagata¹, Ayako Hino², Seiichiro Tateishi³, Akira Ogami⁴, Mayumi Tsuji⁵, Shinya Matsuda⁶, Koji Mori¹, Yoshihisa Fujino⁷, On Behalf Of The CORoNaWork Project

Affiliations

¹ Department of Occupational Health Practice and Management, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.
² Department of Mental Health, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.
³ Disaster Occupational Health Center, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.
⁴ Department of Work Systems and Health, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.
⁵ Department of Environmental Health, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.
⁶ Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.
⁷ Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.

Abstract

The previous studies found that women and low-income households were more likely to experience unemployment prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is no cohort study to examine the relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this prospective cohort study is to examine the relationship between sociodemographic factors and unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. We surveyed the socioeconomic status, personal characteristics, and occupation of recruited workers at baseline (22-25 December 2020); subsequent unemployment was examined at follow-up (18-19 February 2021). We determined the odds ratio of unemployment by sociodemographic status and occupation. The multivariate model was adjusted for sex and age. Among the 19,941 participants, 725 (3.6%) had experienced unemployment. Multivariate analysis showed significant high unemployment amongst women and participants of younger age, bereaved or divorced, unmarried, of lower income, or with short educational background. By occupation, the unemployment rate of temporary or contract employees and self-employed is high. COVID-19 expelled socially vulnerable groups from employment. This suggests the need for employment and economic support for such individuals.

Keywords: COVID-19; Japan; sociodemographic factors; socioeconomic status; unemployment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Pandemics
Prospective Studies
Socioeconomic Factors
Unemployment*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the research grant from the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan (no grant number); Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (H30-josei-ippan-002, H30-roudou-ippan-007, 19JA1004, 20JA1006, and 210301-1); Anshin Zaidan (no grant number), the Collabo-Health Study Group (no grant number), and Hitachi Systems, Ltd. (no grant number) and scholarship donations from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (no grant number). The funder was not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article or the decision to submit it for publication. All authors declare no other competing interests.