FACTS
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that between 2012 and 2015, occupational suicide rates were highest among males in the construction and extraction sector. Among females, it was highest in arts, entertainment, sports and media.
- Sudden and traumatic for colleagues, the suicide incidents can prompt ripples of anger and guilt across an organization, potentially damaging productivity.
- Most of the people who die by suicide are of working age.
- Suicide is death caused by injuring oneself with the intent to die. A suicide attempt is when someone harms themselves with any intent to end their life, but they do not die as a result of their actions.
- Suicide is connected to other forms of injury and violence. For example, people who have experienced violence, including child abuse, bullying, or sexual violence have a higher suicide risk.
- People who attempt suicide and survive may experience serious injuries that can have long-term effects on their health. They may also experience depression and other mental health concerns.
- Suicide and suicide attempts affect the health and well-being of friends, loved ones, co-workers, and the community. When people die by suicide, their surviving family and friends may experience shock, anger, guilt, symptoms of depression or anxiety, and may even experience thoughts of suicide themselves.
STATS
- The U.S. suicide rate has been rising steadily since the turn of the century, growing from 10.4 instances per 100,000 people in 2000 to 14 instances per 100,000 in 2017. That’s a 33% increase since 1999 and the highest rate on record since 1942. Several factors are likely to blame for the trend such as the country’s opioid crisis, alcoholism and stress. Unsurprisingly and tragically, the growing suicide rate is also manifesting itself in American workplaces and a record number of people killed themselves on the job in 2018.
- That’s according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics who found that there were 304 workplace suicides across the U.S. last year, an 11% increase from 2017 and the highest number since the data was first tracked 26 years ago.
- In 2018, the groups conducted an online survey of 256 people from 41 states and found that 46% of the respondents said they knew at least one friend, co-worker or family member who had attempted suicide, while 43% reported having lost at least one friend to suicide. Additionally, a 2018 analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that suicides among the U.S. working age population rose 34%.
- Suicide rates increased 33% with a small decline in 2019. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. It was responsible for more than 47,500 deaths in 2019, which is about one death every 11 minutes.3 In 2019, 12 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.4 million attempted suicide.
- 20% of the American workforce experiences some form of mental disorder, and depression and substance abuse are among the most common problems.