There is plenty of evidence showing that difficult economic times are bad for us. Unemployment is associated with anxiety, depression and even an increased risk of suicide. A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reviewed the evidence and found a strong positive association between unemployment and increased use of healthcare services, physical and mental disorders and mortality.

Mental health fares especially badly with unemployment. A recent paper, published in Social Science and Medicine, examined rising suicide rates in east and south-east Asia during the region’s economic crisis in 1997-98. It suggested the crisis was associated with 10,400 more suicides in 1998 compared with 1997 in Japan, Hong Kong and Korea. In Taiwan and Singapore, where the crisis had less impact, there was no similar rise in suicide rate.