Employment and mental health among UK ex-service personnel during the initial period of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

LAY SUMMARY This article examines how employment status changed for working-age UK ex-military personnel in the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic and how this relates to their mental health. Overall, the unemployment rate among ex-military personnel was not worse than that in the general population; however, because ex-military personnel generally have a lower unemployment rate than the general population, this suggests they were worse hit by the pandemic. Part-time and self-employed personnel were more likely to experience negative changes to their employment situation. Both becoming unemployed and being furloughed were correlated with negative changes in mental health. However, it should be noted that the mental health data used for this comparison predate the onset of the pandemic; hence, other factors related to both change in employment status and change in mental health could be the cause of this apparent relationship.