While unemployment is known to increase the risk of suicide, its cumulative effect remains underexplored. This study investigates how unemployment affects suicide mortality and whether the effect varies based on the number of unemployment spells using two years of nationwide data.

Using the data from the National Statistical Office and Employment Insurance Database for 2018 and 2019, we identified an average of 2365 cases of suicide over two years among 7.76 million workers aged 25–64 years who had been employed within one year before their suicide. The number of unemployment spells was counted using the employment history of the past five years. We calculated crude suicide mortality rates per 100 000 population, age- and sex- standardized mortality rates (SMRs), and proportionate mortality rates (PMRs) for suicide.

Over the two years, the crude suicide rate was 30.0 per 100 000 among the general population and 30.5 among workers. Workers with no unemployment spells in the past five years had a significantly lower SMR (0.44; 0.42–0.46), while those with four or more unemployment spells had a significantly higher SMR (3.13; 2.92–3.35) than the general population. These findings were consistent across all sex and age groups. Additionally, workers with four or more unemployment spells had a significantly higher PMR than the general population.

The impact of unemployment on suicide mortality intensifies as the number of unemployment spells increases. These results underscore the necessity for additional social and psychological support along with economic assistance for individuals facing recurrent unemployment.

Experience of a major disaster can potentially impact on tobacco consumption. Our objective was to explore the determinants of increasing tobacco consumption after the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE).

We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Miyagi Prefectural Health Survey 2014: a total of 2632 people were randomly selected from residents aged ≥20 years in Miyagi, Japan. Of 2443 respondents (response rate = 92.8%), 551 current smokers (411 men) were included in the analysis. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for increasing tobacco consumption were calculated using multivariable logistic regression models including variables of age, sex, disaster-related job status change, education status, self-rated health, and age at smoking initiation.

After adjustments for all variables, significantly higher ORs for increasing tobacco consumption after the GEJE were observed in women (OR = 1.87; 95% CI = 1.10–3.15), 20–39 years old (OR = 5.18; 95% CI = 2.28–11.75), 40–59 years old (OR = 3.97; 95% CI = 1.76–8.94) and respondents who had lost their jobs (OR = 3.42; 95% CI = 1.06–11.05) than the counterpart categories.

This study found 3 determinants of increasing tobacco consumption after a major disaster: being a woman, being of working age, and experiencing disaster-related job loss.

The present study examined the association between unemployment and household food insecurity during the 2007–2009 economic recession in the USA.

Longitudinal survey of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP; 2008–2011). Food insecurity was measured by five questions excerpted from an eighteen-item Food Security Scale. Unemployment was measured by a dichotomous indicator, the number of job losses and the total duration of all episodes in the observation period.

As nationally representative data, the SIPP interviewed respondents in multiple waves with a time interval of four months.

The study created two analytic samples including working-age household heads employed at the beginning of the observation period. The size of the two samples was 14 417 and 13 080.

Unemployment was positively associated with food insecurity (OR=1·55; 95 % CI 1·32, 1·83; P<0·001). Similar results were obtained when the analysis controlled for food insecurity status measured before unemployment (OR=1·54; 95 % CI 1·27, 1·88; P<0·001). For households with the same duration of unemployment, one more episode of unemployment increased the odds of food insecurity by 8 % (OR=1·08; 95 % CI 1·00, 1·18; P<0·001).

More in-depth understanding of the relationship between unemployment and food insecurity is useful to better identify and serve the at-risk population. Connecting unemployment assistance closely to nutrition assistance could lower the prevalence of food insecurity among unemployed households. Public policy should better account for both episodes and duration of unemployment to reduce food insecurity.