Want to know which are the highest suicide rates by profession in the U.S. so you can potentially avoid such soul-crushing work? No matter what line of work you are in, you’ll be interested in this countdown. Every job involves a certain degree of stress, but some occupations are more stressful than others, and that is reflected in the following list. While it’s certainly true that employment can’t be blamed in some or even a majority of suicides, with such a large sample size to draw from, it’s also undeniable that profession is playing a role in the following suicide rates.
Those professions which demand high skills and long hours, and put a lot of pressure on the worker, have elevated suicide rates, which this list shows. So, if you’re still exploring the job market and haven’t chosen a career path, these might be some of the occupations to be avoided. You should also take a look at the 10 States with the Highest Suicide Rates (Most Depressing and Suicidal States) for information on which places not to relocate to for a happy life with a natural ending.
There are lots of factors which, combined, can lead to suicide: economic decline, unemployment, climate conditions, mental illness, stress… Closely connected to this last factor is occupation. In compiling our list, we used the information collected by the National Occupational Mortality Surveillance, a state-based program that monitors work-related acute and chronic disease mortality among workers in the United States. Moreover, they organize and integrate the data into three different age groups and further systematize it according to gender, racial factors, industries and occupations. For this countdown in particular we used the data for white men of working age. As the analysis was divided into gender and race, we had no choice but to choose a group. Nevertheless, we will comment on the different results regarding women (both white and African American), and African American men.
For example, suicide rates by profession amongst white women are highest among physicians, their rate being 2.78 times higher than the general population. Moreover, for these women, sales related jobs rank very highly because of the male dominance in such working environments (likely to involve sexual harassment). Also related to a predominantly male profession is law enforcement, ranking third in suicide rates of white women.
As for African American women, the occupations with the highest suicide rates are: protective service jobs, sales representatives and packaging serving operations. On the other hand, African American men are more likely to commit suicide if they happen to be detectives, police officers, operators of furnaces or electricians.
Without further ado, here is the countdown for the highest suicide rates by profession.
10. Assemblers of Electrical Equipment
Times More Likely to Commit Suicide than Average: 1.36
There’s a study that suggests that a contributing factor for this figure might be the heightened long-term exposure to electromagnetic fields, which supposedly affect melatonin production .
9. Sellers of Real Estate
Times More Likely to Commit Suicide than Average: 1.38
The Real Estate market tends to be quite fluctuating, a fact that can be very stressful, especially when things are in decline. Moreover, meeting strangers in empty houses involves a high risk, evidenced in the stress and paranoia this poses to real estate agents.
8. Hand Molders
Times More Likely to Commit Suicide than Average: 1.39
7. Urban Planners
Times More Likely to Commit Suicide than Average: 1.43
6. Heavy Construction Operators
Times More Likely to Commit Suicide than Average: 1.46
5. Chiropractors
Times More Likely to Commit Suicide than Average: 1.50
4. Finance workers
Times More Likely to Commit Suicide than Average: 1.51
I know you were expecting to see this line of work in our list, as it is no news that working in finance involves a great deal of stress. What you might not know is that statistics show a correlation between the suicide rate in financial workers and the economy. Naturally, when the economy is in decline, suicide rates for this trade go up.
3. Veterinarians
Times More Likely to Commit Suicide than Average: 1.54
Common causes of stress for veterinarians include working more than 50 hours per week, dealing with difficult clients, and problems with interpersonal relationships.
2. Dentists
Times More Likely to Commit Suicide than Average: 1.67
As you’ve probably noticed by now, profession in health care are prone to suicide. Dentists work in high-stress environments and have long been one of the professions with the highest suicide rates. Some stressors in dentistry include missed appointments, managing a solo practice, patient dissatisfaction with treatment, and insurance problems.
1. Physicians
Times More Likely to Commit Suicide than Average: 1.87
Finally, physicians are at the top of our countdown because being a doctor is one of the most stressful professions you can choose. But stress in not the only factor that amounts to this sad result. As health-care workers, physicians are more likely to succeed in committing suicide because they have access to drugs and know the correct dosage and administration to apply. Moreover, physicians tend to be more reluctant to seek medical help if depressed.
