Medicalisation of Unemployment: An Analysis of Sick Leave for the Unemployed in Germany Using a Three-Level Model

Philipp Linden and Nadine Reibling
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Philipp Linden: Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Nadine Reibling: Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Work, Employment & Society, 2025, vol. 39, issue 1, 139-162

Abstract: The study investigates whether sick leave for the unemployed is used to address problems of labour market integration – a process that can theoretically be conceptualised as the medicalisation of unemployment. Estimating a multilevel logistic regression model on a sample of N = 20,196 individuals from the German panel study Labour Market and Social Security (PASS) reveals that, on average, 18% of the unemployed are on sick leave due to poor health. However, given a comparable state of health, the probability increases for men, older individuals and those with lower educational levels. These findings are crucial as they reveal a dual role of sick leave in a context with limited access to disability pensions: as a protective measure for sick, unemployed individuals and as medicalisation of unemployment by excluding those who face non-medical barriers to labour market integration.

Keywords: active labour market policies; disability; Germany; labour market; medicalisation; multilevel model; sick leave; social investment; social policy; unemployment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:39:y:2025:i:1:p:139-162

DOI: 10.1177/09500170241244688

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