This paper uses Finnish longitudinal employee-employer data (FLEED) matched to birth records to estimate the effects of job displacement on fertility. We distinguish between male and female job losses. We focus on couples where one spouse lost his/her job due to a plant closure in
1991 and follow them several years before and after the job loss. As a comparison group we use similar couples that were not affected by a plant closure. In order to examine the possible channels through which job loss affects fertility we examine also the effect on earnings, employment and divorce. The results show that woman’s job loss decreases fertility only for highly educated women. Man’s job loss has a stronger negative impact on fertility than woman’s job loss.