Layoff Experience in Adulthood and Premature Death Among US Working-Age Adults, 1979-2022

Objectives. To investigate the association between layoff experience over 33 peak working years and subsequent premature death. Methods. This open cohort study involved data from 7234 working-age adults who took part in the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Cumulative layoff experience from the ages of 16 to 55 years was operationalized as the number of jobs ending in a layoff from 1979 to 2012. Mortality outcomes were assessed from 2012 to 2022, when the participants were younger than 65 years. Results. Layoff experience was associated with 18.71 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09, 36.23; 1 layoff vs no layoffs) and 32.61 (95% CI = 2.66, 62.56; 2 or more layoffs vs no layoffs) excess deaths per 10 000 person-years. In a fully adjusted Cox proportional hazards model, experiencing 1 layoff and 2 or more layoffs (vs no layoffs) was associated with 1.23 (95% CI = 1.00, 1.51) and 1.30 times (95% CI = 0.96, 1.77) higher hazards of premature death from 2012 to 2022 (P trend = .02). The observed association did not statistically differ by timing of layoffs, sex/gender, or race/ethnicity. Conclusions. Layoffs may be an important determinant of mortality among US workers. (Am J Public Health. 2026;116(8):1180-1188. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308432).