Then she saw her husband slumped in his chair. She could see it in his face and that good feeling faded.

"We'll just keep trying," she said to him softly. "You'll try again tomorrow."

Later, before bed, Linda kept on calmly reassuring him to help clear his mind of angst and anxiety.

But sometimes sleep doesn't come for Linda either. There are bills to pay, small children to support and her husband, Anthony Ang, has been out of work now for almost 18 months.

"He sends resumes every day, long cover letters, but there hasn't been any result," she said.

"He feels very stressed and it affects me. I feel very stressed and depressed as well."

Unemployment as a political issue is discussed in numbers - there are more than 211,000 jobseekers in Victoria, a rate of 6.8 per cent. But joblessness also affects people in other ways that are more difficult to quantify, such as the emotional toll on family members.

A new study, using data from in-depth interviews with 13,000 Australians, has found that women become more distressed and anxious than men when someone in their family loses a job.

Pointing to a major gender difference surrounding anxiety, the Melbourne University research reveals that when a man loses his job, his female partners' mental health is likely to take a significant dip. But Australian males register almost no decline when a female partner loses her job.

Teenage boys, aged 15-20, are also rarely ever distressed when their parents lose a job, but teenage girls are emotionally affected, especially if it is their mother, the study says.

Professor Mark Wooden, co-author of the report and director of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, said the latest research revealed surprising results.

"A job loss is quite a stressful event for the person losing their job, but this is the spill-over to other family members, and these are very gendered findings," he said.

Georgie Harman, chief executive of mental health group beyondblue, said the results reflected the fact that women were far more likely to experience anxiety than men and were more willing to disclose mental health concerns.

"One in three women will experience anxiety in their lifetime, compared to one in five men," she said. "People are different to one another but boys tend to be more resilient about parents losing their jobs than females."

Ms Harman said the stresses of an involuntary job loss could mentally affect others in the family unit, regardless of gender.

"If someone is not sleeping or is irritable or feels they have lost their identity, that has a massive impact on partners and on kids," she said.

"People should get help and get help early if they are worried, and organisations going through downsizing or restructures should look after the mental health of their staff affected."

Mr Ang, who holds a Masters degree in IT, had worked for eight years at a university until budget cuts meant his contract could not be renewed. He has completed further studies to prepare for a career change into web development or administration, but says the long stretch of unemployment has been a "very difficult time" for he and his wife.

"She is demoralised too, and we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

"I don't even mind how low the salary is. I just want to work in any job."

For help or information, visit beyondblue.org.au

Email Mr Ang at anthony.ang@gmail.com