Workplace suicide is on the rise

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that workplace suicides surged 28% in 2008 -- perhaps driven by financial stress, job insecurity, and the extraordinary pressure that so many Americans have found themselves under.

Overall though, the death on the job news is good. Workplace fatalities fell by 12% -- but could that have been driven by high unemployment and layoffs in high-risk construction fields that shed jobs as the economy contracted? The USA Today reports that "The 5,071 workplace fatalities recorded in 2008 was the lowest number since the agency began tracking the data in 1992.

Of course, that number includes 251 suicides, the highest number since official reporting began."