Analysis of 2012 National Violent Death Reporting System data from 17 states indicated that workers in the farming, fishing, and forestry occupational group had the highest rate of suicide (84.5 per 100,000), followed by workers in construction and extraction (53.3), and installation, maintenance, and repair (47.9). Among males, farming, fishing, and forestry also accounted for the highest rates of suicide (90.5 per 100,000), whereas the highest rate among females (14.1) was among workers in the protective service occupational group.

In 2012, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death among persons aged ≥16 years in the United States, with approximately 40,000 suicide deaths reported among persons aged ≥16 years. From 2000 to 2012, rates of suicide for persons aged ≥16 years increased 21.1%, from 13.3 per 100,000 to 16.1. Understanding suicides by occupational group provides an opportunity for prevention, but such data have not been reported recently for a broad population or examined by sex and occupation classification.

In 2012, approximately 40,000 suicides were reported in the United States, making suicide the 10th leading reported cause of death for persons aged ≥16 years (1). From 2000 to 2012, rates of suicide among persons in this age group increased 21.1%, from 13.3 per 100,000 to 16.1 (1). To inform suicide prevention efforts, CDC analyzed suicide by occupational group, by ascribing occupational codes to 12,312 suicides in 17 states in 2012 from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) (2). The frequency of suicide in different occupational groups was examined, and rates of suicide were calculated by sex and age group for these categories. Persons working in the farming, fishing, and forestry group had the highest rate of suicide overall (84.5 per 100,000 population) and among males (90.5); the highest rates of suicide among females occurred among those working in protective service occupations (14.1). Overall, the lowest rate of suicide (7.5) was found in the education, training, and library occupational group. Suicide prevention approaches directed toward persons aged ≥16 years that enhance social support, community connectedness, access to preventive services, and the reduction of stigma and barriers to help-seeking are needed.

CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) collects information on violent deaths, including suicides, from multiple sources, including death certificates, coroner and medical examiner reports, and law enforcement reports, to monitor trends, understand violent death characteristics and risk factors, and inform prevention efforts (2). The most recent NVDRS data set available for analysis (2012) includes data from 17 states.*

NVDRS Occupation Title and Industry Title fields were used to assign each suicide decedent to one of the major occupational groups defined by the national Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system (3). The decedent’s usual occupation at the time of death was coded, and each decedent was assigned to only one occupational group. Additional codes for decedents who were classified as homemakers/housewives, students, never worked/disabled (and not working), retired, prisoners, unemployed, and self-employed (unspecified industry) were created by the authors.

Decedents were assigned to SOC codes using three steps. First, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Industry and Occupation Computerized Coding System (NIOCCS) (4) was applied to the 12,312 suicides in the data set, resulting in SOC codes for 5,532 (44.9%) decedents (Figure). NIOCCS matched the industry and occupation text fields to U.S. Census Industry and Occupation codes†; these were mapped to detailed SOC codes, which the authors collapsed into major SOC occupational groups. Next, a computer algorithm (developed based on a review of cases for which a SOC code was not provided by NIOCCS) was used to produce codes for an additional 4,572 (37.1%) decedents.§ Finally, manual coding by the authors was used for the remaining 2,208 (17.9%) decedents (Figure). For 729 (5.9%) decedents, the occupation fields were blank or lacked sufficient information; these were coded as “unknown.” Interrater reliability was assessed for a random 5% sample (635 decedents) of the data set, with resulting Cohen’s kappa coefficient of 0.87 (554 decedents); the remaining 81 decedents not in agreement were resolved through discussions among the authors.

Descriptive data were analyzed, including the number of suicides and rates of suicide by occupational group. Occupational groups were stratified by sex, and rates of suicide were calculated for each group using denominators derived from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey March Supplement (5), which includes a question about the person’s primary occupation during the previous calendar year. Rates were not calculated for occupation codes created by the authors, because the Current Population Survey data set does not provide denominator data for these groups. U.S. child labor laws prohibit persons aged <16 years from working full-time; therefore, only decedents aged ≥16 years were included. SOC code 55 (i.e., military specific occupations) was not included in the analysis because it was not possible to reliably determine whether these decedents were on active duty or retired, or what occupation they held in the military. If a decedent had a specific coded job and was employed by the military, that decedent was coded according to the occupation (e.g., an engineer working for the military would be included in the “Architecture and engineering” occupational group).

Among the 12,312 suicide decedents included in the 2012 data set, 9,509 (77.2%) were male, and 2,801 (22.8%) were female; information about sex was missing for two decedents (Table 1). Decedents ranged in age from 16 to 102 years; however, 84.5% were aged 16–64 years. Nearly one third of all suicides occurred among persons in the following four occupational groups: construction and extraction (1,324; 10.8%); management (1,049; 8.5%); production (953; 7.7%); and installation, maintenance, and repair (780; 6.3%) (Table 1). The highest proportion (22.7%) of suicides occurred among persons aged 45–54 years, and the lowest proportion (11.6%) occurred among persons aged 16–24 years (Table 1).

Rates of suicide were highest in the following three occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry (84.5 suicides per 100,000 persons); construction and extraction (53.3); and installation, maintenance, and repair (47.9) (Table 2). Rates of suicide varied by sex, with higher rates among males than females in all occupational groups (Table 2). Among males, the highest suicide rates were among persons in the following three occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry (90.5 per 100,000); construction and extraction (52.5); and installation, maintenance, and repair (47.5). Among females, the highest suicide rates occurred among persons in the following three occupational groups: protective service occupations (e.g., law enforcement officers and firefighters) (14.1 per 100,000); legal (13.9); and healthcare practitioners and technical (13.3) (Table 2).