Anxiety and Job-Seeking: How Often U.S. Adults Felt Worried or Nervous in 2017, by Age and Work Status

In 2017, U.S. adults who were looking for work were more likely than adults who were working to say they felt worried, nervous or anxious daily or weekly — in every age group.

Among people who were working, the share who felt this way fell with age.

Adults feeling worried, nervous or anxious daily or weekly, by age and employment status, 2017. Error bars show 95% confidence intervals. CDC

How it was measured

• The question: "How often do you feel worried, nervous or anxious? Would you say daily, weekly, monthly, a few times a year, or never?" — "daily" or "weekly" counted.
• Working meant, in the week before the interview, working for pay; having a job or business but being away from it; or working unpaid in a family business. Looking for work was the other group.
• Sample: household interviews with a representative sample of U.S. civilian adults not living in institutions, from the National Health Interview Survey's Adult Functioning and Disability Supplement.

Sources

Based on Alterman T, Li J, Luckhaupt SE, Rosa R, "QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Who Felt Worried, Nervous, or Anxious Daily or Weekly, by Age Group and Employment Status — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2017," MMWR volume 68, number 16, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; data from the National Health Interview Survey. A work of the United States government in the public domain.