The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics J. Mental Health Policy Econ. 2, 51–54 (1999) Labor Market Conditions and Employment of the Mentally Ill

Background: The mental health services literature includes assertions that workers with mental illness are at earlier risk of unemployment than other workers when the economy contracts. This possibility is important for several reasons. One is that such a phenomenon would support the argument that the lives of mentally ill persons are made unnecessarily stressful by the stigma of mental illness. Another is that the phenomenon could distort comparisons of the effectiveness of programs designed to prepare persons with severe mental illness for work. Despite its importance, the assertion that severely mentally ill workers are at early risk of unemployment has never been empirically tested. Aims of the Study: We aim to test the hypothesis that unemployment among persons with severe mental illness (SMI) increases before job loss among other workers