Unemployment harms couples' relationship happiness

Many people become unemployed during economic crises, resulting in significant financial costs. The social costs, however, are often overlooked. Unemployment can severely affect couples’ relationships, potentially leading to separation and poor outcomes for their children. In this briefing, we show the impact of losing one’s job, or a partner losing their job, on relationship happiness over the short- and long-term in the UK.

Our findings suggest that women, in particular, become unhappy with their relationships if their partner loses their job. We recommend that policy-makers acknowledge the role of unemployment, for both the unemployed and their partners, when designing relationship intervention programmes.