Suicide rates in the United States have jumped sharply over the past few years to add to the more than 10,000 suicides thought to have been caused by the hardships imposed by the Great Recession that began in 2008.

A total of 270,500 persons committed suicide in the U.S. from 2003 to 2010, said a study published March 15 in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. The study also showed the annual suicide rate stands at 36,000 "completed deaths".

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These totals do not include data from military personnel that account for the highest rates of suicides among any group in the country.

Previous studies estimate that 10,000 avoidable suicides have taken place since the start of the Great Recession. Groups especially at risk from suicide include the unemployed, the elderly and those suffering from mental illnesses such as depression. The data confirms suicide rates correlate with times of economic difficulty.

As a result, workplace suicides have spiked since 2008. Workplace suicides, which were falling until 2007 (the year before the Great Recession), jumped sharply from 1.2 completed suicides per 100,000 people in 2007 to 1.7 in 2008.

The groups identified as most at risk from workplace suicide were men and people aged between 65 and 74 that had lost their homes, their money or were heavily indebted.

A growing number of these suicides occurred on the job with 1,719 people committing suicide at their workplace between 2003 and 2010 out of 270,500 suicides in total.

Most on-the-job suicides occurred most among those employed in protective service occupations and those in farming, fishing and forestry. This is consistent with data that shows the risk of suicide, especially among young people, rises dramatically in rural areas.

"Occupation can largely define a person's identity, and psychological risk factors for suicide, such as depression and stress, can be affected by the workplace," said Hope Tiesman, lead researcher for the study and epidemiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

"Suicide is a multi-factorial outcome and therefore multiple opportunities to intervene in an individual's life -- including the workplace -- should be considered. The workplace should be considered a potential site to implement such programs and train managers in the detection of suicidal behavior, especially among the high-risk occupations identified in this paper," she added.

Tiesman said the study highlights the need to consider suicide as more than a personal failing.

"This work is important since it continues to highlight the impact of suicide in this country -- even among those who are gainfully employed," Tiesman told the Huffington Post.