(PCM) Did you know that more than 4,600 people died from injuries on the job just last year alone? Workplace injuries are more common than you think, and not just occurring in legendarily hazardous occupations like fishing. Believe it or not, dangerous occupations you might think of right off the bat, like firefighting and tractor operation, are actually relatively safe compared car mechanics – a job not necessarily deemed dangerous.
So, what are the most dangerous jobs in America? According to the Bureau of Labor Statisticsā National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, fishing kills the most people every year at a rate of 121.2 per 100,000 full-time workers. The overall rate of fatal work injury for U.S. workers in 2011 was 3.5 per 100,000. In second and third place comes loggers and airplane pilots, respectively.
According to the report, the two most common causes of worker fatalities are transportation accidents and violence. Forty-one percent of all fatal workplace injuries happened in transportation incidents, which include car accidents, overturned vehicles and plane crashes. More than half (57 percent) of the 1,898 fatal transportation-related incidents occurred on highways, and involved motorized land vehicles. The second-highest cause of worker fatalities was assaults and violent acts, which accounted for 18 percent of deaths, or 780 lives. The preliminary data shows that workplace suicides fell slightly in 2010 to 258 after climbing to a high of 263 the year before. (Source)
The 10 deadliest jobs:
1. Fishers and related fishing workers
2. Logging workers
3. Aircraft pilot and flight engineers
4. Refuse and recyclable material collectors
5. Roofers
6. Structural iron and steel workers
7. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers
8. Drivers/sales workers and truck drivers
9. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
10. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs
Safest jobs of all? File clerks, insurance sales agents and customer-service representatives. Makes you think twice before complaining about paperwork in your safe and comfortable cubicle.
photo courtesy ecaptain.com