Workplace suicides reach historic high in 2018

Workplace suicides reached their highest level in 2018 since we began tracking them in 1992. There were 304 workplace deaths by suicide in 2018, an increase of 11 percent from 2017. Since 1992, the fewest workplace suicides recorded was 180 in 2005.

From 2014 to 2018, the top 12 detailed occupations with the highest suicide tallies accounted for 36 percent of suicides. Six of these occupations involved some type of management responsibility. Three other occupations—military occupations, police and sheriff’s patrol officers, and security guards—involve protective service responsibilities.

These data are from the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. To learn more, see “National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2018.” We also have more data on workplace suicides and more charts on fatal workplace injuries.