TY - JOUR
AU - Deeming, Christopher
AU - Akanni, Lateef O.
PY - 2025
DA - September
TI - Evaluating the impact of the UK job retention scheme on mental health and wellbeing using matched difference-in-differences
JO - Fiscal Studies
AB - In March 2020, the UK implemented the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, otherwise known as furlough, to minimize the impact of job losses. The UK furlough protected jobs during the COVID-19 crisis, covering up to 80% of worker’s monthly wage for hours not worked. We evaluate the causal effects of furlough on mental health, life satisfaction and loneliness, considering different labour market transitions in the pandemic. We employ a difference-in-differences (DID) estimator with Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method using data from Understanding Society UK Household Longitudinal Study Mainstage and COVID-19 waves. We show furlough protected workers’ mental health and wellbeing, compared to non-furloughed workers, and unemployment. We also find no detrimental wellbeing effect to being furloughed compared to continuous employment. The wellbeing gains from furlough are particularly evident for those with pre-existing poor mental health and wellbeing conditions. Overall, policies that mitigated negative labour market transitions during the pandemic had positive wellbeing effects on the working population.
PB - Wiley
UR - https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/94320/
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Mental health and wellbeing
KW - Work and workforce
ER