Involuntary Job Transitions and Subjective Well-Being

This chapter examines whether lasting reductions in earnings and wealth due to job loss have consequences on well-being beyond financial concerns. In particular, the analysis uses data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the impact of job loss on two different measures of self-reported psychological well-being, one meant to capture life satisfaction and another that gauges a person's sense of purpose in life. The research indicates that job loss, independent of a variety of background factors, reduces satisfaction by roughly 25 to 50 percent and that self-assessments by individuals of their purpose in life also typically declines by roughly 15 percent. This work suggests that job loss takes a toll on the nonfinancial as well as the financial well-being of individuals.