Employment Status of People With Mental Illness: National Survey Data From 2009 and 2010
Abstract
Objective
Methods
Results
Conclusions
Disability enrollment
Economic recession
Evidence-based interventions
Methods
Data source and study population
Measures
Employment status and related outcomes.
Past-year mental illness severity.
Selection of adjustment factors.
Past-year substance use disorder.
Health status.
Sociodemographic characteristics.
Analytic strategy
Results
Demographic characteristics
Past-year mental illness | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
None (N=57,283) | Mild (N=10,643) | Moderate (N=4,170) | Serious (N=5,230) | |||||
Characteristic | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % |
Female | 26,647 | 48.1 | 6,069 | 57.0 | 2,524 | 58.9 | 3,589 | 66.7 |
Age | ||||||||
18–25 | 26,604 | 15.9 | 6,229 | 25.0 | 2,474 | 24.4 | 3,013 | 23.8 |
26–34 | 8,506 | 18.5 | 1,587 | 21.4 | 634 | 22.0 | 807 | 21.3 |
35–49 | 12,655 | 33.8 | 1,847 | 32.1 | 718 | 29.5 | 1,019 | 32.6 |
50–64 | 5,749 | 31.7 | 642 | 21.4 | 262 | 24.1 | 331 | 22.4 |
Education | ||||||||
Less than high school | 8,384 | 13.3 | 1,745 | 14.1 | 775 | 17.1 | 909 | 15.5 |
High school graduate | 17,496 | 30.0 | 3,308 | 29.6 | 1,358 | 28.7 | 1,758 | 33.0 |
Some college | 15,508 | 26.0 | 3,166 | 28.2 | 1,262 | 29.4 | 1,709 | 30.9 |
College graduate or higher | 12,126 | 30.7 | 2,086 | 28.1 | 713 | 24.8 | 794 | 20.6 |
Ever married | 24,960 | 28.8 | 3,669 | 40.7 | 1,453 | 41.8 | 2,031 | 38.5 |
Race-ethnicity | ||||||||
White | 33,120 | 64.8 | 6,629 | 68.7 | 2,652 | 68.3 | 3,532 | 73.0 |
Black | 6,882 | 12.5 | 1,270 | 12.0 | 468 | 11.3 | 470 | 9.5 |
Hispanic | 8,961 | 15.9 | 1,433 | 12.4 | 593 | 14.4 | 684 | 12.1 |
Other | 4,551 | 6.8 | 973 | 6.9 | 375 | 6.1 | 484 | 5.5 |
Substance use | ||||||||
No substance use disorder | 47,851 | 92.8 | 7,880 | 82.5 | 2,942 | 78.4 | 3,487 | 75.6 |
Alcohol abuse only | 2,727 | 3.7 | 771 | 6.0 | 312 | 5.2 | 343 | 4.9 |
Alcohol dependence only | 1,374 | 2.2 | 748 | 6.3 | 340 | 8.1 | 525 | 9.8 |
Drug abuse only | 304 | .3 | 121 | .9 | 66 | 1.6 | 72 | 1.1 |
Drug dependence only | 624 | .7 | 368 | 2.4 | 172 | 4.0 | 316 | 5.3 |
Abuse of or dependence on alcohol and drugs | 357 | .3 | 250 | 1.8 | 149 | 2.7 | 277 | 3.4 |
General health | ||||||||
Excellent | 15,952 | 27.7 | 2,188 | 19.3 | 699 | 14.0 | 741 | 11.6 |
Very good | 21,365 | 38.5 | 4,037 | 35.8 | 1,521 | 32.7 | 1,759 | 30.1 |
Good | 12,717 | 25.1 | 2,905 | 29.3 | 1,269 | 32.0 | 1,614 | 30.5 |
Fair or poor | 3,474 | 8.7 | 1,175 | 15.6 | 598 | 21.3 | 1,056 | 27.8 |
Children <18 years old in household | ||||||||
0 | 35,028 | 62.0 | 7,210 | 63.8 | 2,868 | 68.0 | 3,590 | 66.9 |
1 | 8,272 | 15.9 | 1,445 | 15.0 | 611 | 14.8 | 753 | 14.6 |
2 | 6,477 | 14.0 | 1,041 | 13.5 | 382 | 10.9 | 500 | 11.2 |
≥3 | 3,680 | 8.1 | 603 | 7.7 | 224 | 6.3 | 325 | 7.3 |
Arrests and bookings in past year | ||||||||
0 | 50,594 | 97.4 | 9,470 | 95.1 | 3,688 | 94.5 | 4,626 | 91.9 |
1 | 1,712 | 2.0 | 523 | 3.7 | 223 | 3.7 | 338 | 5.8 |
2 | 337 | .4 | 108 | .7 | 74 | 1.1 | 88 | 1.4 |
≥3 | 192 | .2 | 68 | .4 | 37 | .8 | 60 | .9 |
County type | ||||||||
Large metropolitan area | 23,860 | 54.7 | 4,557 | 53.2 | 1,759 | 53.1 | 2,096 | 48.9 |
Small metropolitan area | 18,526 | 29.9 | 3,651 | 31.3 | 1,479 | 32.5 | 1,922 | 31.9 |
Nonmetropolitan | 11,128 | 15.4 | 2,097 | 15.5 | 850 | 14.3 | 1,152 | 19.2 |
Employment rates
Past-year mental illness | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
None (N=57,283) | Mild (N=10,643) | Moderate (N=4,170) | Serious (N=5,230) | |||||
Observation | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % |
Employment | ||||||||
Full-time | 28,100 | 61.7 | 4,394 | 50.9 | 1,576 | 46.6 | 1,777 | 38.1 |
Part-time | 10,300 | 14.2 | 2,428 | 17.9 | 944 | 16.1 | 1,149 | 16.4 |
Unemployed | 5,149 | 7.0 | 1,211 | 9.4 | 548 | 10.2 | 660 | 10.5 |
Out of labor force | 9,965 | 17.1 | 2,272 | 21.8 | 1,020 | 27.1 | 1,584 | 35.1 |
Respondent’s total income | ||||||||
<$10,000 (including loss) | 19,812 | 23.1 | 4,778 | 32.0 | 2,014 | 35.5 | 2,596 | 38.5 |
$10,000–$19,999 | 10,625 | 16.3 | 2,207 | 18.9 | 913 | 21.1 | 1,230 | 23.2 |
$20,000–$29,999 | 6,912 | 13.6 | 1,223 | 13.4 | 451 | 12.4 | 546 | 12.1 |
$30,000–$39,999 | 5,013 | 11.9 | 761 | 10.8 | 298 | 10.1 | 299 | 8.2 |
$40,000–$49,999 | 3,489 | 9.2 | 456 | 6.7 | 157 | 7.6 | 194 | 5.8 |
$50,000–$74,999 | 4,295 | 13.2 | 554 | 10.3 | 151 | 6.9 | 190 | 7.5 |
≥$75,000 | 3,368 | 12.8 | 326 | 7.8 | 104 | 6.3 | 115 | 4.8 |
Past-year benefits to family | ||||||||
Social Security | 5,050 | 12.8 | 1,186 | 14.7 | 531 | 18.2 | 786 | 20.8 |
Supplemental Security Income | 2,925 | 5.8 | 818 | 8.6 | 380 | 11.5 | 567 | 13.2 |
Employed respondent’s total incomeb | ||||||||
<$10,000 (including loss) | 9,130 | 12.3 | 2,241 | 19.1 | 874 | 20.1 | 1,017 | 21.4 |
$10,000–$19,999 | 8,296 | 15.7 | 1,655 | 18.7 | 654 | 20.2 | 816 | 23.0 |
$20,000–$29,999 | 5,989 | 15.0 | 1,035 | 15.6 | 358 | 15.5 | 429 | 16.3 |
$30,000–$39,999 | 4,488 | 13.8 | 666 | 13.5 | 256 | 14.0 | 242 | 11.8 |
$40,000–$49,999 | 3,222 | 11.0 | 419 | 8.9 | 142 | 10.7 | 166 | 8.3 |
$50,000–$74,999 | 4,062 | 16.2 | 503 | 13.9 | 138 | 9.9 | 153 | 11.1 |
≥$75,000 | 3,213 | 16.0 | 303 | 10.4 | 98 | 9.6 | 103 | 8.1 |
Missed or skipped work ≥1 day in past weekb | 9,559 | 21.5 | 2,304 | 30.5 | 997 | 37.9 | 1,239 | 40.7 |
Occupation categoryb | ||||||||
Executive, administrative, managerial, or financial | 4,053 | 14.5 | 578 | 13.6 | 199 | 12 | 5,062 | 11.4 |
Professional (not education, entertainment, or media) | 3,696 | 12.8 | 586 | 11.4 | 194 | 11.9 | 4,688 | 10.3 |
Education and related occupations | 2,166 | 6.2 | 401 | 7.1 | 154 | 6.5 | 2,886 | 8.1 |
Entertainers, sports, media, and communications | 805 | 2.2 | 196 | 3.1 | 60 | 2.2 | 1,141 | 3.6 |
Technicians and related support occupations | 2,216 | 5.2 | 457 | 5.9 | 173 | 5.3 | 3,075 | 6.9 |
Sales occupations | 4,574 | 9.9 | 953 | 11.6 | 392 | 14.3 | 6,352 | 11.4 |
Office and administrative support workers | 4,937 | 12.4 | 973 | 14.2 | 369 | 14.3 | 6,722 | 14.5 |
Protective service occupations | 930 | 2.5 | 125 | 1.9 | 43 | 2.5 | 1,143 | 2.2 |
Service occupations, except protective | 6,648 | 11.7 | 1,485 | 15.5 | 547 | 14.3 | 9,368 | 18.1 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations | 375 | .7 | 45 | .3 | 15 | .2 | 447 | .3 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair workers | 1,386 | 4.0 | 154 | 2.5 | 53 | 2.5 | 1,653 | 1.5 |
Construction trades and extraction workers | 2,426 | 5.9 | 319 | 4.4 | 101 | 4.7 | 2,925 | 2.5 |
Production, machinery setters, operators, and tenders | 2,199 | 5.9 | 286 | 4.0 | 117 | 5.4 | 2,734 | 4.9 |
Transportation and material moving workers | 2,283 | 6.0 | 334 | 4.7 | 131 | 3.9 | 2,883 | 4.2 |
Other employment outcomes
Associations with full- or part-time employment
Model 1: No mental illness | Model 2: Mild mental illness | Model 3: Moderate mental illness | Model 4: Serious mental illness | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Observation | % | OR | 95% CI | % | OR | 95% CI | % | OR | 95% CI | % | OR | 95% CI |
Age | ||||||||||||
18–25 (reference) | 65 | — | — | 66 | — | — | 65 | — | — | 64 | — | — |
26–34 | 77 | 1.92 | 1.75–2.12 | 70 | 1.23 | .99–1.52 | 72 | 1.41 | 1.04–1.92 | 61 | .90 | .69–1.16 |
35–49 | 80 | 2.25 | 2.04–2.48 | 74 | 1.47 | 1.15–1.87 | 71 | 1.36 | .95–1.94 | 64 | 1.00 | .76–1.33 |
50–64 | 69 | 1.22 | 1.08–1.38 | 65 | .93 | .69–1.27 | 52 | .56 | .36–.86 | 48 | .50 | .34–.72 |
Race-ethnicity | ||||||||||||
White (reference) | 71 | — | — | 70 | — | — | 70 | — | — | 62 | — | — |
Black | 69 | .87 | .78–.97 | 61 | .66 | .51–.85 | 57 | .59 | .43–.81 | 58 | .83 | .56–1.22 |
Hispanic | 71 | 1.00 | .87–1.14 | 70 | 1.02 | .81–1.29 | 71 | 1.16 | .83–1.62 | 63 | 1.04 | .75–1.43 |
Other | 68 | .84 | .71–.98 | 64 | .76 | .56–1.04 | 61 | .71 | .42–1.20 | 66 | 1.22 | .62–2.41 |
Education | ||||||||||||
Less than high school (reference) | 58 | — | — | 54 | — | — | 46 | — | — | 46 | — | — |
High school graduate | 69 | 1.64 | 1.46–1.83 | 65 | 1.61 | 1.29–2.00 | 64 | 2.17 | 1.58–3.00 | 59 | 1.67 | 1.20–2.33 |
Some college | 75 | 2.26 | 2.02–2.52 | 73 | 2.48 | 1.94–3.18 | 70 | 2.88 | 2.00–4.15 | 65 | 2.26 | 1.69–3.03 |
College graduate or higher | 77 | 2.60 | 2.25–3.01 | 78 | 3.17 | 2.45–4.09 | 79 | 4.69 | 3.02–7.28 | 74 | 3.44 | 2.28–5.18 |
Gender | ||||||||||||
Male (reference) | 76 | — | — | 72 | — | — | 76 | — | — | 76 | — | — |
Female | 65 | .55 | .52–.59 | 65 | .73 | .61–.87 | 65 | .97 | .77–1.22 | 65 | .82 | .64–1.05 |
Ever married | ||||||||||||
No (reference) | 69 | — | — | 66 | — | — | 65 | — | — | 58 | — | — |
Yes | 73 | 1.22 | 1.10–1.34 | 71 | 1.31 | 1.05–1.63 | 67 | 1.09 | .78–1.52 | 67 | 1.52 | 1.10–2.09 |
General health | ||||||||||||
Excellent (reference) | 73 | — | — | 71 | — | — | 71 | — | — | 68 | — | — |
Very good | 74 | 1.07 | .97–1.18 | 72 | 1.03 | .87–1.22 | 67 | .82 | .57–1.17 | 65 | .90 | .67–1.20 |
Good | 69 | .82 | .74–.91 | 67 | .83 | .70–.99 | 67 | .82 | .54–1.24 | 59 | .67 | .51–.88 |
Fair or poor | 51 | .34 | .30–.39 | 48 | .35 | .26–.45 | 45 | .30 | .19–.46 | 36 | .25 | .18–.34 |
Children <18 years old in household | ||||||||||||
0 (reference) | 71 | — | — | 69 | — | — | 65 | — | — | 62 | — | — |
1 | 74 | 1.20 | 1.10–1.31 | 69 | 1.02 | .81–1.27 | 70 | 1.28 | .87–1.88 | 59 | .85 | .63–1.16 |
2 | 71 | 1.03 | .94–1.13 | 69 | 1.04 | .81–1.34 | 72 | 1.43 | .95–2.16 | 62 | 1.00 | .71–1.42 |
≥3 | 63 | .67 | .60–.76 | 62 | .73 | .55–.98 | 60 | .80 | .46–1.37 | 61 | .92 | .61–1.39 |
Arrests and bookings in past year | ||||||||||||
0 (reference) | 71 | — | — | 69 | — | — | 67 | — | — | 62 | — | — |
1 | 62 | .65 | .52–.80 | 60 | .67 | .50–.89 | 62 | .78 | .51–1.21 | 51 | .59 | .38–.92 |
2 | 55 | .46 | .29–.72 | 46 | .34 | .20–.60 | 56 | .59 | .31–1.12 | 59 | .87 | .42–1.82 |
≥3 | 59 | .55 | .31–.95 | 55 | .52 | .24–1.14 | 50 | .45 | .14–1.44 | 53 | .66 | .27–1.65 |
County type | ||||||||||||
Large metropolitan area (reference) | 71 | — | — | 68 | — | — | 68 | — | — | 63 | — | — |
Small metropolitan area | 70 | .98 | .91–1.06 | 69 | 1.03 | .88–1.21 | 64 | .79 | .62–1.02 | 62 | .94 | .77–1.14 |
Nonmetropolitan | 70 | .97 | .87–1.08 | 68 | 1.02 | .83–1.25 | 66 | .92 | .68–1.23 | 59 | .84 | .61–1.15 |
Substance use | ||||||||||||
No substance use disorder (reference) | 70 | — | — | 68 | — | — | 66 | — | — | 61 | — | — |
Alcohol abuse only | 74 | 1.23 | 1.01–1.49 | 72 | 1.20 | .87–1.65 | 69 | 1.17 | .73–1.88 | 65 | 1.19 | .77–1.82 |
Alcohol dependence only | 71 | 1.01 | .83–1.24 | 69 | 1.04 | .72–1.49 | 72 | 1.33 | .93–1.90 | 68 | 1.37 | 1.01–1.86 |
Drug abuse only | 72 | 1.07 | .75–1.51 | 61 | .70 | .41–1.20 | 63 | .86 | .41–1.80 | 59 | .92 | .34–2.45 |
Drug dependence only | 71 | 1.04 | .75–1.44 | 59 | .63 | .44–.89 | 52 | .52 | .31–.87 | 57 | .83 | .57–1.21 |
Abuse of or dependence on alcohol and drugs | 64 | .74 | .45–1.21 | 60 | .67 | .42–1.06 | 60 | .74 | .44–1.23 | 68 | 1.40 | .92–2.19 |
Discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgments and disclosures
Supplementary Material
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