Racial-ethnic disparities in health and the labor market: Losing and leaving jobs

This study examines whether employment disruptions have varying health consequences for White and Black or Hispanic workers in the U.S. Since employment disruptions mark major shocks to socioeconomic status (SES), this analysis also speaks to a broader set of questions about how race/ethnicity and SES shape population-level health disparities. Data from 1999, 2001 and 2003 waves of the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics provide no evidence of racial/ethnic variation in the health consequences of involuntary job loss. However, associations between leaving jobs voluntarily and poor self-assessed health are larger for Black and Hispanic workers than for White workers. This pattern may be linked to downward occupational mobility within the Black and Hispanic sample.