Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Workplace suicides continued to rise in 2019

September 29, 2021

In September each year, mental health organizations and people across the United States raise awareness for suicide prevention. In 2019, there were 307 workplace fatalities by suicide, the highest level on record. Workplace suicides increased by 1.0 percent from 2018 and by 34.1 percent from the 10-year low in 2015.

Workplace suicides, 1992–2019
Year Workplace suicides

1992

205

1993

222

1994

214

1995

221

1996

204

1997

216

1998

221

1999

218

2000

221

2001

230

2002

199

2003

218

2004

206

2005

180

2006

208

2007

196

2008

263

2009

263

2010

270

2011

250

2012

249

2013

282

2014

280

2015

229

2016

291

2017

275

2018

304

2019

307

The top 13 detailed occupations in which worker suicides were most prevalent accounted for 39.4 percent (121 cases) of all workplace suicides in 2019. Seven of these occupations, accounting for 19.2 percent (59 cases) of workplace suicides, included managerial or supervisory duties. Of these, two occupations involved supervising food service workers, and two occupations involved supervising sales workers. Two other nonsupervisory occupations—military-specific occupations and police and sheriff’s patrol officers—involved protective service responsibilities.

Workplace suicides in selected detailed occupations, 2019
Occupation Workplace suicides

Heavy and tractor trailer drivers

24

First-line supervisors of retail sales workers

20

Military-specific occupations

17

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

13

First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers

9

Construction laborers

7

Maintenance and repair workers, general

6

Food service managers

5

First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers

4

Electricians

4

First-line supervisors of nonretail sales workers

4

Chief executives

4

Police and sheriff’s patrol officers

4

Since 2004, the 45- to 54-year-old age group has had the highest number of suicides each year. In 2019, this age group accounted for 25.7 percent (79 cases) of workplace suicides.

These data are from the Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities program. To learn more, see “National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2019.” We also have more charts on work-related deaths.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Workplace suicides continued to rise in 2019 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/workplace-suicides-continued-to-rise-in-2019.htm (visited November 11, 2024).

OF INTEREST
spotlight
Recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics


triangle