Ohio’s Unemployed Getting Smashed

Posted on Jan 28, 2010

businessinsider.com

While seemingly intuitive, it’s a bit frightening to see the correlation so clearly illustrated: A graphic, covering a 12-year period, shows the tie between Ohio’s unemployment rate and the amount of alcohol purchased. With unemployment and booze consumption at their contemporary highs, many are wondering about the public health effects of unemployment on those out of work.  —JCL

Business Insider:

You can never be sure of a job, a marriage, or even efficient markets theory these days, but through thick and thin it appears there’s at least one constant left in this world—liquor sales will keep rising, at least in Ohio.

In 2009, Ohio’s liquor sales volume hit a record high, for the seventh year in a row.

As shown below, even when recession and mass unemployment hits, the people of Ohio don’t give up when it comes to booze. In fact, by the look of 2009 data, it appears mass unemployment may have helped boost spirits sales. That’s quite a jump from 2008 to 2009. Then again, liquor is probably one of the cheapest forms of entertainment around, thus tight times might lead some people to buy even more of it.

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