It turns out that death rates fall during recessions. I posted in January on how some had speculated that people eat better during recessions, but in fact people seem to eat worse food. Now I can report that people also get less exercise during recessions:
Recreational exercise tends to increase as employment decreases. In addition, we also find that individuals substitute into television watching, sleeping, childcare, and housework. However, this increase in exercise as well as other activities does not compensate for the decrease in work-related exertion due to job-loss. Thus total physical exertion, which prior studies have not analyzed, declines. These behavioral effects are strongest among low-educated males. (more)
The healthy-recession puzzle deepens.
Downturn Cuts Exercise
Mining has actually increased during the downturn, it is one of the few economic bright spots, but I think the number of people employed in mining is a very small proportion of workforce.
Unemployment/underemployment => more sleep, less stress perhaps (and less stress hormones).
Though obviously the first part of figuring out recession mortality is decomposing the mortality changes into those experienced by the newly unemployed and those who still have jobs but are working fewer hours.