Job loss stress driving a rift between husband and wife

Married men who lose their jobs have a higher chance of getting divorced than their happily employed peers, according to a study.

The study, by the US-based National Bureau of Economic Research, found that 18 per cent of men axed from their jobs are likely to split up with their wife within three years of getting their P45. Female workers only have a 13 per cent chance of seeing their marriage break up as a result of losing their job.

The researchers suggested that the character traits which follow redundancy, such as increased grumpyness, could cause a strain in the marriage.