Being old and employed is better for your health than being young and unemployed, according to a study by Gallup Inc.

About 30 percent of people over the age of 50 who have a job can be classified as “thriving,” compared with only 23 percent of people ages 18 to 29 who are out of work, according to the research. Physical well-being means having good health and enough energy to get things done daily, Gallup said.

“In the U.S., age has less of an influence on physical well-being, while employment status — particularly unemployment — has a significant one,” Gallup said in a statement. “For some demographic groups, such as black men, unemployment takes an even greater toll on well-being.”

Highly educated people throughout the world suffer in greater numbers while unemployed than people with an elementary or high-school education. Only 15 percent of the jobless with a college education or advanced degree can be considered “thriving,” while 28 percent of unemployed people who finished grade school are in good health.

“Young adults in high-income economies stand to lose a great deal in terms of the effect of unemployment on their physical well-being — and even more so among those living in the U.S.,” according to Gallup. “This is perhaps a characteristic of developed countries, where the differences between employed and unemployed youth are starker. In these high-income societies, unemployment seems to take more of a toll on young people.”

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