Report Ranks Jobs by Rates of Depression

People who tend to the elderly, change diapers and serve up food and drinks have the highest rates of depression among U.S. workers. Overall, 7 per cent of full-time workers battled depression in the past year.

Women were more likely than men to have had a major bout of depression, and younger workers had higher rates of depression than their older colleagues. Almost 11 per cent of personal care workers, which includes child care and helping the elderly and severely disabled with their daily needs, reported depression lasting two weeks or longer. Workers who prepare and serve food _ cooks, bartenders, waiters and waitresses _ had the second highest rate of depression among full-time employees at 10.3 per cent. In a tie for third were health care workers and social workers at 9.6 per cent. The lowest rate of depression, 4.3 per cent, occurred in the job category that covers engineers, architects and surveyors. Government officials tracked depression within 21 major occupational categories. They combined data from 2004 through 2006 to estimate episodes of depression within the past year. That information came from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which registers lifetime and past-year depression bouts. Depression leads to $30 billion to $44 billion in lost productivity annually, said the report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.