How do couples respond when one spouse loses their job? Rather than the other partner getting a job or working more hours, a new study suggests that most couple try to get the original earner back to work as soon as possible.
Mark Bryan and Simonetta Longhi examined data from the UK Labour Force Survey 1992-2013 and found that half of those couple members who lost their jobs are back in work within six months – and having a working partner greatly speeds up this return.
Moreover, for men, a working partner is particularly associated with entry into ‘high-quality’ jobs that are permanent rather than temporary, and paid employed jobs rather than self-employment. These effects were also larger during the recent recession: having a working partner helped counteract the effects of recession on the return to work.
Download the working paper here