Job security
Job security, or confidence in the continued existence of a job or hours of work, has a significant impact on health

Key stats

of the labour force are in insecure work. The number of people reporting agency work or zero-hours contracts has grown the most in recent years.

48%

is how much the number of agency workers grew between 2011 and 2019.

3.2%

of workers in Wales are in involuntary insecure employment, compared to 2.4% in London.

Job security, or confidence in the continued existence of a job or hours of work, is considered another stressor with a significant impact on health. Broader definitions include concerns about the loss of particular job functions and individuals’ capacity to resist changes. The psychological challenges posed by uncertainty have been categorised as unpredictability (lack of clarity on how to respond) and uncontrollability (powerlessness towards the threat), the latter of which is considered a key part of the transmission mechanism.

The charts in this section explore the relationship between job security and health, as well as trends and inequalities in job security.

Explore other subtopics within Work

Job quality

This relates to a range of factors, including pay, security, autonomy and satisfaction

Employment and unemployment

This relates to people wanting but lacking paid employment, or people in employment looking for additional hours

Data, insights and analysis exploring how the circumstances in which we live shape our health

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