The mortality of men aged 15-64 who were seeking work in the week before the 1971 census was investigated by means of the OPCS Longitudinal Study, which follows up a 1% sample of the population of England & Wales. Findings indicated a high mortality rate for the next 10 years for this sample. Lung cancer & suicide significantly raised levels of mortality, after allowances for social class, supporting findings by others that unemployment is associated with adverse effects on health. (NBB)