Research has found a strong relationship between aggregate economic indicators and the number of individuals receiving services from mental health facilities. To examine the relationship between macroeconomics and health, the broad utilization patterns and demographic information on the aggregate number of individuals using the mental health center services of 13 community centers in Philadelphia, between July 1973 and May 1982, were analyzed. The six service modalities analyzed were inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization, emergency social rehabilitation, and vocational rehabilitation. Economic indicators were the monthly, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, and the month-to-month, seasonally adjusted percent change of the Consumer Price Index, which was used as an index of inflation. An analysis of the results showed that the unemployment rate was significantly and directly related to use of several services, while the inflation rate was a poor predictor of service use. The services reacted to economic change in the following sequence: emergency, inpatient, partial hospitalization, social rehabilitation, and outpatient. Increased service utilization preceded increases in unemployment, suggesting that anticipation of job loss can be as stressful as the actual layoff. The findings suggest that mental health planners need to address the impact of economic change in the allocation of services and in prevention at both the individual and social policy levels. (BL)