Australia must tackle unemployment to reduce suicide rates

Adelaide University Media Release

More than 3000 Australians die by suicide each year, yet one of the strongest known drivers of suicide risk – unemployment – remains largely overlooked in Australia’s suicide prevention programs.

Now, Adelaide University researchers are calling for a fundamental shift in how suicide is prevented, arguing that work, unemployment and financial insecurity must be recognised as critical factors in Australia’s suicide prevention response.

Funded by the Medical Research Future Fund’s Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission, the two-year Work and Unemployment: Vital to Effective Suicide Prevention project investigated how government policy, employers, suicide prevention networks, healthcare professionals and social security systems can contribute to reducing suicide risk.

In their final report presented today, researchers say Australia cannot significantly reduce suicide
rates without addressing the social and economic conditions that place people at risk, including unemployment, financial hardship, insecure work, income instability and workplace distress.

The findings are particularly relevant with the Australian Government’s recent overhaul of the JobSeeker system.

“Work and unemployment are among the most important social determinants of suicide, yet they remain largely overlooked in suicide prevention,” Adelaide University Chief Investigator Associate Professor Toby Freeman said.

“Our research indicates that key aspects of Australia’s welfare system, including low support payments, mutual obligations and punitive approaches to employment services, can increase financial hardship, social exclusion and psychological distress, all of which are associated with elevated suicide risk.

“We also found workplace factors such as job insecurity, psychosocial hazards, poor working conditions and power imbalances can contribute to suicidal distress, despite often being overlooked in suicide prevention efforts.

“Too often, responses to suicide risk focus on the individual while overlooking the social and economic circumstances that may be contributing to that distress.

“If someone is struggling because they’ve lost their job, can’t afford housing or are facing severe financial hardship, medication alone will not address the underlying causes of their distress.

“And while mental health services are critically important, factors such as poverty, unemployment, financial insecurity, housing stress and poor working conditions can profoundly affect a person’s wellbeing and suicide risk.”

According to data from the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare, people on unemployment payments are 2.8 times more likely to die by suicide, with more than 600 unemployed people dying by suicide each year in Australia.

The Adelaide University research included analysis of employment, social security and health policies, reviews of existing evidence, analysis of suicide coronial data, and interviews with policymakers, employers and suicide prevention stakeholders across Australia.

“There’s also a disconnect in government policy. While suicide prevention strategies increasingly recognise the importance of social and economic factors, employment and social security policies often fail to consider their potential impact on suicide risk,” Assoc Prof Freeman said.

“Beyond government and workplaces, we found that local Suicide Prevention Networks are making an important contribution in communities across Australia, but their role in addressing the social determinants of distress remains under-recognised and under-supported.

“If we are serious about reducing suicide in Australia, we need to move beyond treating distress and place greater emphasis on addressing the conditions that place people at risk in the first place.”

The project has produced a series of recommendations for governments, employers, suicide prevention organisations and healthcare providers, including stronger recognition of employment-related risk factors, greater cross-sector collaboration, improved support for local suicide prevention networks, and increased attention to the social determinants of suicide.

Key recommendations include:

• Recognise work and unemployment as critical factors in suicide prevention and better integrate suicide prevention into employment and social security policy.
• Address workplace factors that contribute to suicidal distress, including job insecurity, psychosocial hazards, poor working conditions and workplace power imbalances.
• Raise JobSeeker payments to a liveable level and replace punitive mutual obligations and workfare programs (such as Work for the Dole) with supportive employment services that help people find meaningful and secure work.
• Ensure employment programs for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are co-designed with local communities.
• Expand suicide prevention beyond clinical interventions to address social and economic drivers of distress, including unemployment, poverty, housing insecurity and financial hardship.
• Strengthen support for community-based Suicide Prevention Networks and improve training for healthcare professionals, employment services staff and workplaces to better recognise and respond to social determinants of suicide.
• Strengthen collaboration between governments, employers, health services and community organisations to address the upstream causes of suicide risk.

“We cannot treat our way out of this problem. Reducing suicide in Australia requires action long before people reach crisis point,” Assoc Prof Freeman said.

“Greater attention must be paid to the role that unemployment, insecure work, financial insecurity and social exclusion play in people’s lives.

“If we continue to overlook these factors, we will continue to miss opportunities to prevent suicide and save lives.”

The Work and Unemployment: Vital to Effective Suicide Prevention project was led by Adelaide University’s Assoc Prof Toby Freeman, with Dr Miriam van den Berg, Prof Jon Juredini and Dr Matt Fisher, in partnership with the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, South Australian Council of Social Service, Anti-Poverty Network SA, Healing Centre for Griefology, Suicide Prevention Australia and Wesley Mission.