Attempted Suicide and Unemployment in Helsinki: 1989-1992

The relationship between attempted suicide & unemployment was analysed among 2102 suicide attempters, age 15 years & over. In 1992 every second of the subjects who attempted suicide in 1989 had had periods of unemployment whereas in 1989 every fifth of the same subjects had been unemployed. It is speculated that unemployment in itself is not a cause of suicide attempts as much as it is a marker of dysfunctional persons in a relatively employed society.