If you’re in the construction industry, it’s very likely that you’ve heard statistics about the high rate of injuries and death in the industry, likely shared during safety trainings and certifications or during tool talks. You might have heard that there were approximately 1,000 deaths in 2022 (the most recent statistics available) due to construction work-related injuries. 

However, a group of statistics that you might not have heard about—because it’s a difficult topic and taboo to many—is that the rate of suicide in the construction industry is four times that of the national rate. These are crisis-level numbers. 

Even though it’s a difficult topic that touches a lot of nerves, we should talk about it—why it happens and how to prevent it—just as we do with injury and fatality statistics; this is because if we say that the safety and wellbeing of our employees is the most important thing—and at Tucker Paving, the safety of our employees is always our first priority—then that includes suicide prevention and mental health awareness.

Suicide Statistics in Construction

The statistics concerning suicide are bleak; the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) ranks construction as the leading industry for deaths by suicide. According to the Center for Construction Research and Training, construction accounts for 7.4% of the workforce, but 17.9% of suicides where occupations were reported were committed by those working in construction.

In 2022, the CDC reports that approximately 6,000 deaths by suicide were committed by those in construction; that’s six times the rate of deaths by accidents in construction and four times the national rate. It’s also an increase from the year before. The stark reality is that it equates to around 16 people who work in construction commit suicide a day, every day of the year.

CDC numbers also show that the majority of deaths by suicide in construction are men, and that the rate is a whopping 75% higher than men in the general population. The numbers are crisis-level and require a response from every corner of the construction industry and beyond. If 6,000 people were dying from, say, falls in construction in a year, with those numbers rising year-after-year, there would be a huge movement to fix it. It’s time to stop ignoring these statistics and join in the fight to stop suicide in the construction industry.

Factors That Can Contribute

The first step in tackling the high rate of suicide among construction workers is to understand how working in the industry is connected to increasing the chances of the act itself. The CDC offered the following factors that likely contribute to the higher rate of suicide in the construction industry:

  • Construction work can be very demanding. Many construction jobs are physically demanding and occur outside of the elements. This is hard on the body and the mind.
  • Construction can have demanding schedules. There is a shortage of skilled construction workers that has been on-going for many years; this means that there is a lot of “mandatory” overtime. Those in the construction industry work long hours with few days off. 
  • Time away from family. Long hours that start early and end late—and go into the weekend—leave construction workers little time to spend with their emotional support networks—their families and friends; this is extra important as families and communities are part of the “protective factors” that support resilience in mental health.
  • Injuries and chronic pain. Unfortunately, those in the construction industry are also more likely to be injured on the job, and many injuries can turn into chronic pain. This factor has also increased opioid use in the construction industry, which is a problem all on its own.
  • Seasonal work. There are many construction jobs that halt during the winter due to the cold, meaning construction workers are stuck with crazy hours during fair weather and no work during the coldest months.
  • Lack of paid sick leave. While many construction jobs pay a decent salary with good benefits, paid sick leave is not always available. Without paid sick leave to recuperate from an illness or heal from an injury, many construction workers are faced with going to work while unwell or hurt.

We would also add that seeing mental health as a “taboo” subject, or believing the idea that a person who is struggling mentally or asks for help is “weak,” can also contribute to the high rate of suicide in the construction industry. These concepts discourage those who need help from asking for help and getting it.

What to Do

The next step in combating suicides in construction—after acknowledging and getting a thorough understanding of the problem—is to promote mental health just like we would for physical health or other danger and changing the stigma against asking for help for mental health issues.

The Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP) was created in 2016 and became an independent non-profit in 2018 to raise awareness about suicide in construction and to offer resources and tools aimed at suicide prevention. When you want an expert in asphalt and concrete paving, you contact Tucker Paving; when you want an expert in suicide in construction prevention, you follow the action steps put together by CIASP:  

Tucker Paving is coming up on our 30-year anniversary in November, and the thought of even one construction worker taking their own life between now and then is too much to bear. Every one of our employees is our top priority—both their physical and their mental health. 

This is where in a blog we usually would encourage you to contact us if you need paving work done, but we’ll save it for another time. Instead, we’d like to use this opportunity to implore you, that if you are having mental health problems or thoughts of suicide, to please get yourself help by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. And if you see a coworker in distress, don’t ignore it; reach out and lend an ear and any of the resources we’ve shared above.