This paper reviews some of the extensive literature on the relationship between unemployment and subjective well-being. The lower life satisfaction of the unemployed is one of the most robust findings in quality-of-life analysis. However, the focus on the contemporaneous effect of own unemployment likely does not reflect the full societal well-being cost of job loss. For the individual, well-being losses continue for many years after their unemployment spell has ended. In addition, one person?s unemployment spills over to the well-being of others. We in particular discuss how both of these spillovers ? within individuals and between individuals may transit via the fear of future job loss ? job insecurity. Taken together, these findings suggest that the full societal burden of unemployment is broader, deeper, and more enduring than suggested by simple contemporaneous estimates.

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10 March 2026

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Applied Research in Quality of Life 2026

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DOI: 10.1007/s11482-026-10573-y

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-026-10573-y