Effects of Labor Force Participation on Women's Health: New Evidence from a Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Effects of labor force participation on women's health are evaluated in analyses of longitudinal data for a national sample of older middle-aged women. Our findings indicate that labor force participation had beneficial effects on health for unmarried women and for married black women, but, on the average, labor force participation had no significant effect on health for married white women. Analyses by occupational category suggest that labor force participation had beneficial effects on health for some blue collar married women, but, on the average, labor force participation had harmful effects on health for white collar married women. Our findings, taken together with previous evidence, suggest that employment may increase social support, and job-related social support may have particularly beneficial effects on health for unmarried women and for married women whose husbands are not emotionally supportive confidants. Additional results from this study showed no significant difference in the health effects of part-time and full-time employment.