Previous research has established differences in victimization and violent offending rates between men and women, with men more likely to be both victims and perpetrators of violent crimes. While it has been documented that men are more likely than females to commit both homicide and suicide, few empirical studies have focused on gender differences in the relationship between homicide and suicide. The current study performed time series analyses on national level (Uniform Crime Reports) data for the period 1960 through 2000 in order to explore the historical trends in male and female rates of lethal violence in the United States. Several independent variables were included in the analysis for their possible impact on lethal violence rates, such as data on female labor force participation and sex-specific unemployment data. Control variables included age and size of the minority population. Results of seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) analysis indicated that females more often engage in suicide than males, who in turn engage in more homicide than females. Another important gender difference included the noted reduction in female use of lethal violence as female labor force participation rose; no such effect was seen for male labor force participation. However, gender similarities emerged in the temporal trend analysis, which indicated that the production and direction of lethal violence for both genders is associated with similar social and economic variables. Future research should focus on whether other structural or cultural conditions impact similarly on males and females in terms of lethal behavior. Figures, tables, references