Workplace Suicides Set Record

The U.S. Department of Labor reported last week a record 28 percent rise in workplace suicides, further evidence of the impact of the recession on the mental health of Americans. The total number of people who completed suicide last year was 251, the highest figure since the agency's Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting. The total number of people who died on the job dropped 10 percent. That was the lowest number since 1992. (The Associated Press, 8/21/09)