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State's Low Suicide Rate Tempered by Unemployment
CHICAGO (AP) -- Illinois has the country's sixth lowest suicide rate, but mental health advocates highlighting the rankings say they don't tell the whole story.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness notes the state by state data are from 2007. That's before the economic crisis began and before cuts in services for mental illness.

In a push to get political candidates nationwide to address the problem, the group notes unemployed people face higher risks for suicides.

And the most recent jobs data show Illinois' unemployment rate at 10.3 percent, above the national average of 9.5 percent.

The suicide rankings show there were 8.6 suicides per 100,000 people in Illinois in 2007, or 1,108 people total.

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09 15 10 by Newsroom
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