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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Feb 6.
Published in final edited form as: Brookings Pap Econ Act. 2017 Fall;2017(2):1–87. doi: 10.1353/eca.2017.0012

Table 10.

Subjective Well-Being for Mena

Men, age 16–70 Men, age 16–24
Affect measure All Employed Unemployed Not in the labor force p valueb All Employed Unemployed Not in the labor force p valueb
Happiness 4.23 4.25 4.23 4.18 0.436 4.25 4.26 4.32 4.20 0.685
Tiredness 2.24 2.28 1.95 2.21 0.000 2.31 2.37 2.25 2.25 0.614
Stress 1.41 1.45 1.40 1.27 0.001 1.20 1.27 1.13 1.13 0.399
Sadness 0.59 0.53 0.70 0.77 0.000 0.42 0.40 0.53 0.39 0.312
Pain 0.88 0.73 0.89 1.39 0.000 0.47 0.47 0.56 0.44 0.497
Meaning 4.21 4.27 4.19 4.03 0.000 3.84 3.91 3.92 3.67 0.121
U indexc 0.13 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.647 0.11 0.12 0.09 0.10 0.455
Cantril ladderd 6.97 7.08 6.27 6.83 0.000 7.06 6.94 6.81 7.36 0.028
No. of observations 13,643 9,999 932 2,712 1,585 769 283 533
No. of activities 40,556 29,747 2,767 8,042 4,719 2,292 840 1,587
Men, age 25–54 Men, age 55–70
Affect measure All Employed Unemployed Not in the labor force p valueb All Employed Unemployed Not in the labor force p valueb
Happiness 4.18 4.21 4.15 3.97 0.034 4.34 4.39 4.21 4.29 0.323
Tiredness 2.30 2.31 1.69 2.59 0.000 2.05 2.12 1.89 1.97 0.259
Stress 1.55 1.53 1.64 1.76 0.043 1.22 1.31 1.45 1.07 0.005
Sadness 0.60 0.53 0.79 1.16 0.000 0.67 0.59 0.91 0.77 0.004
Pain 0.87 0.75 0.87 1.96 0.000 1.18 0.84 1.77 1.59 0.000
Meaning 4.24 4.27 4.28 4.01 0.070 4.41 4.52 4.62 4.24 0.001
U indexc 0.14 0.13 0.18 0.21 0.000 0.11 0.11 0.14 0.10 0.264
Cantril ladderd 6.87 7.03 5.69 6.08 0.000 7.14 7.34 6.27 6.92 0.000
No. of observations 8,428 7,277 468 683 3,630 1,953 181 1,496
No. of activities 25,062 21,650 1,391 2,021 10,775 5,805 536 4,434

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey, Well-Being Module.

a

Each respondent was asked about three activities. Affects are measured on a 0–6 scale, from least to most affected. The sample is pooled over 2010, 2012, and 2013. Affect measures and the U index are weighted using the Well-Being Module’s adjusted pooled activity weights.

b

The p value is from an F test of equality of the means for the three labor force statuses.

c

The U index measures the proportion of time in which the rating of stress or sadness exceeds the rating of happiness.

d

The Cantril ladder question was asked in 2012 and 2013 only, and is weighted using the Well-Being Module’s final weights. It is measured on a 0–10 scale, from “worst possible life” to “best possible life.”