Unemployment is closely associated with depressive symptoms. We conducted analysis to find whether the job loss increased the risk of depressive symptoms according to job status, occupation and tenure.

Data were collected from Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS) from 2007 to 2013. To measure the increase in depressive score, we selected respondents who answered for at least 2 years of continuous waves. We performed a longitudinal analysis by generalized estimating equation (GEE) method with a total of 19,399 cases. Among them, 608 cases (3.1%) experienced job loss.

There was a significant rise in depressive score after job loss (β = 1.34, p = .000). In subgroup analysis, precarious and low-tenure workers are considerably more depressed after job loss (precarious: β = 1.98, p < .0001, low-tenure workers: β = 1.31, p = .001). Both white and blue collar workers showed a rise in depressive score significantly (white collar: β = 1.16, p = .031; blue: β = 2.03, p = .001).

The results showed that precarious and low-tenure workers were relatively vulnerable in mental health after experiencing job loss with low and negative expectation for re-employment. It implies that supports for encouraging work skill and financial supports during the unemployment period should be needed.