The recent recession did a lot more than just significantly affect the economy. According to new research, the recession also contributed to, or caused more than 10,000 suicides across North America and Europe between 2008 and 2010.

According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the incidence of suicide rose dramatically after 2007 in Europe, Canada and the United States.

Researchers looked at information on suicide from the World Health Organization and noticed decreasing suicides rates in the EU regressed once the recession began in 2007. By 2009, suicides increased by 6.5 percent in the EU and stayed high well into 2011. Suicide rates increased by 4.5 percent from 2007 to 2010 in Canada. Similarly, rates in the United States increased by 4.8 percent during the same years.

Researchers Aaron Reeves, Martin McKee and David Stuckler believe that an additional 10,000 suicides followed the start of the recession in 2007, and describe this number as “conservative.”

Despite all countries studied experienced an increase in suicides throughout the recession, ultimately researchers concluded that suicide spikes are avoidable. In fact, research suggests that countries’ investment in active job market programs lower the risk of suicide.  Furthermore, researchers approximate that for each $100 spent per capita on programs offering such help for the unemployed, the risk of suicide dropped by 0.4 percent.

The findings are published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.