Health Care, Service Workers Report Highest Rates of Depression

Health care, social services, food preparation and personal care workers such as hair stylists and childcare providers reported the highest rates of depression among more than half a million workers surveyed nationwide, a study published Friday found.

More than one in five people in those professions said they had been diagnosed with depression, well above the 14% of all workers surveyed between 2015 and 2019. Workers in retail, entertainment, sports, media and sales jobs had significantly higher levels of frequent mental distress, even after adjusting for demographic factors like race, sex and age.