A team of researchers has found “clear evidence” of a causal relationship between unemployment and suicide in Australia.
From 2004 to 2016, unemployment and underemployment directly resulted in more than 3,000 Australians killing themselves, an average of 230 a year.
The findings are in a paper titled Unemployment and Underemployment are Causes of Suicide.
It shows that 9.5 per cent of the 32,000 suicides reported in Australia between 2004 and 2016 resulted directly from labour under-utilisation: from unemployment in half of cases, and underemployment in half of cases.
Mental disorders are a significant predictor of both suicide mortality and labour market outcomes. Having a mental disorder increases the probability of suicidal behaviour and of being unemployed.
There is evidence that socio-economic deprivation is associated with poorer mental health treatment outcomes.
So that unemployment and underemployment may not only increase the incidence of psychological distress but could also lead to greater severity and persistence of symptoms among those receiving care.
“It challenges the ethics of ideas that require some level of unemployment for economic efficiency.”
They said their findings bolster the case for policies to achieve full employment as well as to reduce the negative consequences of unemployment, through providing a liveable income and strengthening mental health systems.
“Why should the unemployed face deprivation, stigmatisation and despair when unemployment is a consequence of deliberate policy decisions?” the researchers asked in that article.”
The researchers say that, building on the ideas of University of Queensland economist John Quiggin, the Mental Wealth initiative at Sydney University is proposing a “social participation wage.”
“Set at the rate of a liveable wage, it would recognise the social value of unpaid volunteer work, civic participation, environmental restoration, artistic and creative activity, and activities that strengthen the social fabric of nations,” they say.