Construction workers are dying from suicide at an alarming rate

In a swath of Arizona desert that will soon be home to a multi-billion dollar semiconductor plant, Justin Azbill stood before thousands of construction workers and told the story of the day he almost took his life.

Pressure had been building on Azbill for months in his job as safety director for a large Boston construction firm during the height of the pandemic. Sleep deprived and overwhelmed, Azbill said he made the decision one morning to take his own life and packed a lethal means to do so in his lunch sack.

But as he was preparing to leave for work that morning, his daughter intervened — she asked him to stay home with her that day. He did and the day provided a moment of clarity for Azbill who then sought out help from a friend.

Azbill, who got his start in construction as an ironworker, has been traveling to construction sites across the country sharing his story as he and others in the industry race to address what they say is an epidemic of suicide among their colleagues — many of whom are under increasing strain amid a nationwide construction boom and a shortage of workers.

“In the construction industry, we’ve generationally been taught that if you talk to someone about a weakness or you’re struggling then you’re weak and you won’t get hired,” said Azbill. “One of the reasons I talk about it so freely is so people know that it’s normal and it’s okay.”

The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates among professions — with the rate among male construction workers 75% higher than men in the general population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 6,000 construction workers died as a result of suicide in 2022, an increase from 2021, according to the most