From The Oregonian/OregonLive: “To try to understand and stem the tide of fatal self-harm, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has analyzed data on thousands of suicides to find out which job categories have the most …
One of the most blue-collar job types, construction and extraction, was the worst, with 49 deaths per 100,000 men in 2016 – the year of the analysis – and 26 deaths per 100,000 women. ‘Construction and extraction’ workers include steelworkers, carpenters, mining machine operators, elevator installers and oil derrick workers.
The numbers outstripped the overall suicide rates, which were 27 deaths for every 100,000 working men and eight deaths for every 100,000 working women.
Past research has shown that low-skilled work, less education, job stress and lower socioeconomic status increase suicide risk, the CDC said.
The pattern in the 32 states that the CDC analyzed generally squares with the pattern in Oregon, although the rates here are far higher. With 86 suicides per 100,000 people, Oregonians in construction and extraction jobs were the most likely to die by suicide between 2013 and 2017, according to data provided by the Oregon Health Authority. Farming, fishing and forestry followed, with 76 deaths per 100,000 people.”
