Males working in the construction and extraction industry have the highest suicide rate among the working age population in the U.S., according to National Violent Death Reporting System data recently analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Male construction workers had a suicide rate of 53.2 per 100,000 in 2015, representing 20 percent of males between the ages of 16–64 who died by suicide. The group includes both salaried and hourly construction employees.
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) said it has been working aggressively to educate its chapters and members about suicide within the industry and to provide them with resources. It has also begun holding suicide prevention sessions at several of its conventions and meetings.
“We continue to seek better information about the root causes of the industry’s too-high suicide rate and work to identify, or if needed, create additional resources for our member firms,” AGC VP of Public Affairs Brian Turmail said in an email. “We can, and must, do a better job as an industry to prevent suicides within our workforce.”
The CDC report analyzed the occupational data of 22,053 working-age people in 17 states who died by suicide in 2012 and 2015.
From 2000 to 2016, the suicide rate among the working age population in the U.S. increased 34 percent, from 12.9 per 100,000 to 17.3 per 100,000.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be found here or reached at 800-273-8255.
