The group's increased profile was another reason, it said.

The number of people who sought help in the first half of this year was not available.

Helen Lui, head of the group's hotline centre, said while fewer people may be facing financial difficulties, increasing workload and work-related pressure were driving more people to consider killing themselves.

Group chairman Robert Wong Yao-wing said more housewives and retired people were seeking emotional help.

Mr Wong, who is also a hotline volunteer, said many people wrongly believed housewives led comfortable lives and did not face pressure.

'In answering their calls, I could see that they were indeed very stressed. Unlike working in the office or going to school, the job of a housewife is 24 hours a day,' he said.

Samaritan Befrienders has been visiting local centres for the elderly and found many residents showing signs of depression.

According to figures from the Coroners Court, retired people and housewives ranked second and third in the number of suicides last year, numbering 144 and 134 respectively.

A total of 1,187 people killed themselves last year, compared to 1,195 in 2003. About 30 per cent, or 347, were unemployed, which is the biggest group.

Nearly half of those who took their own lives last year chose to leap to their deaths, while 25 per cent died of smoke inhalation after burning charcoal in a confined space, and 20 per cent hanged themselves.

Hong Kong has one of the world's highest rates of suicide. It is the sixth-biggest killer in the city, claiming more than six times as many lives as road accidents.

People in need of help can call the Samaritans (multilingual) on 28960000 or Samaritan Befrienders (Cantonese) on 23892222.