Depression and Employment

In a recent report of the Gallup-Healthways Well-being Index, a survey conducted by landline or cell phone interview between January 1 and July 25, 2013 of a random sample of 101,195 American adults who have depression, Alyssa Brown and Kyley McGeeney say that "being unemployed, out of the workforce, or working part-time but wanting to work full-time are strong indicators of depression."

Respondents who report being out of the workforce are the most likely to be depressed (16.6%), followed by those who report being unemployed (11.4%) and part-time workers who prefer full-time work (10.6%). 

Read more: 
http://www.gallup.com/poll/164090/employment-linked-depression-free.aspx
http://www.gallup.com/poll/wellbeing.aspx?ref=logo

Medicaid Recipients Most Likely to Suffer from Preventable Illnesses

A survey conducted by The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index shows that those who rely primarily on Medicaid are far more likely to have preventable chronic illnesses than those who receive insurance from their employer, union, as part of a military or veteran's benefit package, and those who are uninsured. More than 1 in 3 recipients of Medicaid are obese compared to 27% of those who receive insurance from their employer or union. Those on Medicaid are also three times more likely to suffer from depression than those who receive their primary insurance from their union or employer, with 22% of the former suffering from depression compared to only 7% of the latter. Also concerning is the fact that 16% of Medicaid recipients suffer from asthma, compared to only 6% of those who receive insurance from an employer or union.
       Although these numbers are certainly cause for concern, it should be noted that recipients of Medicaid are usually living in poverty or are disabled, hence why they receive Medicaid. As Gallup notes, there is a strong correlation between poverty and suffering from poor health. Thus, these findings do not necessarily indicate that those on Medicaid are receiving poor quality care, but perhaps they are simply more likely to suffer from these conditions as a result of their poor socioeconomic status.

Underemployment Continues to Fall, But Is Still Double Pre-Recession Level

With the jobs numbers released this past Friday, highlighting Gallup's underemployment statistics provides another look into the employment situation in America.  Gallup defines underemployed workers as those who work part-time but desire a full-time job, along with Americans who are simply unemployed. This figure is an important supplement to the BLS' jobs numbers, as it illustrates the lingering frustration within the American economy that is not quite as apparent in Friday's optimistic report.  While underemployment has tailed off in recent months, it's still well above levels seen before the recession.  16.5% of workers are underemployed, down from over 20% in 2010 and 18.1% this time one year ago.  Before the housing bubble burst and drove the economy into a downward spiral unseen since the Great Depression, underemployment had sunk to below 8%, but as companies laid off workers and scaled back domestic operations, Americans were left struggling to find full-time employment, prompting a spike in unemployment and underemployment.  Still, though, the 16.5% underemployment rate is the lowest since the start of the recession, and it continues to steadily drop as the year progresses.  

How Does This Economic Downturn Compare to Previous Recessions?

Bill McBride, writer for the blog Calculated Risk, compiled employment statistics from every post WWII recession and displayed them on a graph.  The chart illustrates the severity of the current recession and the enduring gap in employment.  It took 46 months for employment to return to levels seen in the month prior to the 2001 recession – the longest period of time following a recession.  Employment recovered in 31 months during the 1990 recession, and after a more than 5% drop in employment during the 1948 recession, employment losses were cut after just 22 months. The U.S. has experienced a drop in almost 6.5% employment during the current recession, and it’s been over 53 months since the beginning of the recession.  Employment has risen considerably since it bottomed out in the 25-month mark, and it is currently about 3.5% below the level prior to the downturn.