By Monique Coombs, MTI Contributor
BLUF
High-risk professions such as commercial fishing, construction, military service, law enforcement, firefighting, and mining face disproportionately high suicide rates due to job-specific stressors like trauma, isolation, and financial instability.
Workers in high-risk professions face alarming suicide rates, reflecting unique stressors and cultural barriers in seeking mental health support.
Commercial fishing has one of the highest suicide rates, approximately 80 per 100,000, driven by factors such as isolation, financial unpredictability, and hazardous working conditions. The construction industry follows closely, with rates averaging over 50 per 100,000, heavily influenced by job instability and the stigma surrounding mental health care. In 2021, construction suicide rates spiked to an alarming 80 per 100,000, likely due to pandemic-related factors, including job and financial uncertainty, heightened stress, and limited access to mental health resources.
The following data is an average from the years 2019-2022:
Commercial Fishermen
- Rate: 80 per 100,000 workers (fishing alone); 47.9 per 100,000 in the broader agriculture/fishing/logging sector.
- Stressors: Isolation, financial instability, dangerous work, cultural resistance to getting help.
- Programs: Organizations like the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Fishing Partnership Support Services, and the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety are working to develop effective and appropriate resources for commercial fishermen.
Mining
- Rate: 72 per 100,000.
Construction Workers
- Rate: 56 per 100,000 workers (2021). Among the highest of any industry.
- Key Stressors: Job insecurity, substance abuse, physical demands, stigma around mental health.
- Interventions: Industry initiatives like suicide prevention training and wellness programs.
Firefighters (including volunteer) and Rescue Workers
- Rate: 50 per 100,000.
- Factors: Trauma exposure, long shifts, post-traumatic stress, emotional toll of high-stakes work.
- Solutions: Critical Incident Stress Debriefings and therapy programs.
- A 2017 study estimates approximately 100 firefighters commit suicide annually.
Active Duty Military Personnel
- Rate: 29 per 100,000 (active duty)
- Stressors: Combat trauma, reintegration challenges, repeated deployments.
- Resources: VA and Department of Defense programs focus on suicide prevention and mental health care.
- This study found that 30,177 active duty personnel and war veterans of post-9/11 conflicts have died of suicide. This is 4 times as many as the 7,057 killed in post-9/11 war operations.
Law Enforcement Officers
- Rate: 24.5 per 100,000.
- Challenges: High exposure to trauma, stigmatized mental health culture, access to firearms.
- Support: Peer-support networks, dedicated counseling services.
- From 2016 to 2022, there were 1,287 public safety personnel — identified in the report as law enforcement and corrections officers — who died by suicide, according to the First HELP and CNA Corporation report obtainedby ABC News.
Common Risk Factors
- Work-Related: Physical demands, trauma, isolation, long hours, job insecurity, and increasing stress due to things like growing regulations, costs of doing business, and perception in the media.
- Personal: Substance use disorders, financial pressures, family strain.
- Cultural: Stigmatization of mental health care, mostly men/masculine industry cultures. (In the U.S., men account for nearly 80% of suicide deaths, with a rate approximately 3.9 times higher than that of women.)
National Average
From 2019 to 2022, the average suicide rate in the United States was approximately 14.3 per 100,000 people, with a peak of 14.9 per 100,000 in 2021. This rate fluctuated slightly over the years, with a decrease to 14.1 per 100,000 in 2020 and a slight rebound to 14.3 per 100,000 in 2022.
Overall, there were over 49,449 suicides in the US in 2022 according to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), and of these 39,225 were men, or 79%. Based on the data from the Center of Disease Control, of these apprxomately 29,700, or 60%, were white men.
The chart below is from the CDC website:
Conclusion
High-risk professions are often dominated by men, a demographic that already faces disproportionately high suicide rates. Despite this alarming statistic, mental health resources targeted at men in these professions have sometimes been deprioritized in favor of addressing other underserved groups. While prioritizing mental health care for marginalized populations is crucial, neglecting men in these industries can unintentionally reinforce harmful stigmas surrounding mental health.
Suicide rates among women in these high-risk industries are also notably elevated. While men generally experience higher suicide rates in these fields, women still face significant mental health challenges. In fishing, hunting, and trapping, women have lower suicide rates than men, but the risk remains substantial. Similarly, women in law enforcement and fire rescue are impacted by job stress and trauma, though their rates are generally lower than men’s. Construction also shows high suicide rates, with women in this field facing notable risks due to job instability and stress. All of these industries would benefit from targeted mental health resources and more research on gender-specific stressors.
Mental health programs that fail to resonate with the realities of jobs like construction, commercial fishing, or law enforcement leave individuals feeling that their struggles are misunderstood or invalidated. For instance, people in these occupations might not relate to traditional counseling formats or language that doesn’t account for their unique challenges, such as the work in fishing being weather-dependent or the physical demands of construction work.
Lastly, some of these high-risk professions, like law enforcement, mining, and commercial fishing, are often portrayed negatively in the media, which can worsen mental health stigma. For example, law enforcement is frequently scrutinized for misconduct, and fishing is criticized in environmental debates, leaving workers in these industries feeling alienated and undervalued. This public vilification amplifies feelings of isolation and shame, discouraging individuals from seeking help for fear of reinforcing stereotypes or appearing weak.
Data on mental health and suicide in high-risk industries like construction, fishing, and law enforcement is often incomplete, hindered by underreporting and limited research. This lack of data makes it harder to create effective, targeted mental health programs.
Addressing these gaps is essential to better support the men in these professions, who often face unique challenges with few tailored resources.
Resources/ Data Citing
- ManTherapy
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
- Fishing Partnership Support Services
- https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2020/09/09/suicide-in-construction/
- https://sprc.org/news/u-s-suicide-rate-rises-40-over-17-years-with-blue-collar-workers-at-highest-risk-cdc-finds/
- chrome-extension://bdfcnmeidppjeaggnmidamkiddifkdib/viewer.html?file=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/pdfs/mm7250a2-H.pdf
- https://www.usfa.fema.gov/blog/study-examines-higher-suicide-rates-among-first-responders/
- https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/s0810-US-Suicide-Deaths-2022.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2021/Suicides
- https://www.csfa.net/breaking-the-silence-addressing-suicide-among-firefighters/#:~:text=With%20an%20estimated%20100%20suicides,general%20population’s%2013%20per%20100%2C000.
- https://rudermanfoundation.org/white_papers/police-officers-and-firefighters-are-more-likely-to-die-by-suicide-than-in-line-of-duty/
Monique is the Director of Community Programs for the Maine Coast Fisherman’s Association