Favourable Employment Status Change and Psychological Depression: A Two‐year Follow‐up Analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

This study examines the relationship between favourable employment change and well‐being. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, respondents who were inadequately employed (i.e. unemployed or underemployed, N = 1,160) in 1992 were followed up in 1994. Results suggest that among the unemployed in 1992 (time‐1), higher depression at time‐1 was significantly associated with decreased odds of both adequate employment and underemployment relative to unemployment at time‐2 (1994). Among the underemployed at time‐1, gender moderated the relationship between time‐1 depression and employment at time‐2. The odds of employment (both adequate and underemployment) were higher for males than females at lower levels of depression, but this gender advantage fell as depression increased. Additional analyses revealed that any employment at time‐2 relative to unemployment was significantly associated with lower depression in 1994 when controlling for time‐1 depression and other important background variables. Neither time‐1 status (unemployment versus underemployment) nor type of time‐2 employment (adequate versus underemployment) were significantly associated with later depression.