People in low-skilled physical-labour jobs and positions involving caring for others have some of the highest suicide rates, researchers in Britain have found.

In an effort to better understand and prevent suicide, Britain’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) compiled suicide rates by job and gender. Among other things, it found that suicide is far more common among men — something that has been known for some time.

Among men, low-skilled labourers in construction had a suicide rate three times above the national average.

Among women, high-risk occupations include nursing (23 per cent above average), primary school teaching (42 per cent above the average) and jobs in culture, media and sports (69 per cent above the average).

“Early action can stop any employees reaching a desperate stage.” — Duncan Selbie, Public Health England

Both male and female care workers have almost twice the suicide risk of the general population, the study found.

Below are the careers with the highest and lowest suicide rates, based on data from England from 2011 to 2015.