Cumulative layoffs in adulthood and cognitive function in mid-to-later life among US working-age adults, 1979-2020

As one of the most disruptive life events, layoffs are pervasive in the US labor market, while little is known about cumulative layoff experience across adulthood in relation to subsequent cognitive function. We investigated the association between cumulative layoffs spanning over 41 years of adulthood and subsequent domain-specific cognition among US working-age adults. Data were from 6421 adults in National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Cumulative layoff experience was defined as the number of jobs ending in a layoff from 1979-2020: zero (never, n = 4503), one (n = 1402), and ≥ two (n = 516). Domain-specific latent cognitive factor scores were assessed in 2020 using confirmatory factor analysis. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression models were fit to investigate the association of interest. Results suggest that cumulative layoff experience was associated with lower latent factor scores in episodic memory (β = -0.045, 95% CI: -0.100 to 0.010, one layoff vs. never; β = -0.086, 95% CI: -0.171 to -0.001, ≥two layoffs vs. never; P trend 0.037), but not in attention, orientation, or language domains. Given its ubiquity in the US labor market, layoffs may represent an important and understudied risk factor for episodic memory function among US adults.