Life after retrenchment: the impact of education, income and employment status as social determinants of mental and physical health

This paper examines if unemployment following retrenchment from the automobile industry is negatively associated with mental and physical health. Australian adults (> retrenched as a result of automotive plant closures in 2017 participated. The unemployed had the highest prevalence of poor mental health (45%) relative to those in paid employment (20%), self-employed (21%) and fully or semi-retired (6% and 9% respectively). Poor physical health was most prevalent in the unemployed (29%) relative to those in paid employment (11%), self-employed (10%) and fully or semi-retired (20% and 15% respectively). No discernible health impacts related to re-education and training were evident. However, current income and employment were found to be positively associated with mental and physical health with those receving higher incomes and participants in all occupational groups reporting better mental and physical health relative to thosereceiving lower incomes and the unemployed and these differences were highly statistically significant. Overall, working-age retrenched auto workers who are unemployed are more likely to report poor mental and physical health than their counterparts in paid employment. Interventions to support retrenched auto workers transition to gainful employment and increase their financial resources are likely to act as social determinants leading to improvements in mental and physical health.