Understanding Inequities in COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Job Loss in Michigan Through a Social Class Lens

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated social and economic inequities, with disproportionate job loss experienced by marginalized groups. This study offers a class-based perspective to understanding inequities in pandemic-related job loss in Michigan.

We used data from 2452 employed adults who participated in the Michigan COVID-19 Recovery Surveillance Study (MI CReSS), a population-based sample of adults with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in Michigan. We defined seven social classes using an adaptation of Erikson and Goldthorpe's class scheme. Pandemic-related job loss was assessed through self-reported changes in employment status. Modified Poisson regression models were employed to estimate associations between social class and job loss, adjusting for age, sex, race and ethnicity, education, essential worker status, survey modality, and pandemic phase.

Thirty percent of respondents reported pandemic-related job loss. In fully-adjusted models, the self-employed class had a 66% (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] 1.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26, 2.18) and the production class had a 60% (aPR 1.60, 95% CI = 1.23, 2.09) higher likelihood of job loss compared to the manager class. Education modified the relationship between class and job loss, with those with more education within each class having a lower prevalence of job loss.

Distinct social classes were strongly associated with pandemic-related job loss. Employment relations are a modifiable social determinant shaping vulnerability to economic disruption, underscoring the need for future research on class as a mechanism contributing to pandemic-related health and employment inequities.