The Deadliest Jobs in the United States

The Deadliest Jobs in the United States

What are the deadliest jobs in the U.S.? 

Data from the U.S. Department of Labor answers the question.  Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released the National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2017, which looks at fatal work injuries or work deaths recorded in the U.S. in 2017.

According to the data, overall, there were 5,147 worker deaths.

Types of Incidents

The main cause of worker deaths were: transportation incidents (2,077 deaths); falls, slips, and trips (887 deaths); violence and other injuries by persons or animals (807 deaths); contact with objects and equipment (695 deaths); exposure to harmful substances or environments (531 deaths); and fires and explosions (123 deaths).

Deadliest Jobs

The jobs with the highest fatal work injury rates or deaths in 2017 were (in descending order):

10. Electrical power-line installers and repairers (18.7 deaths per 100,000 workers)

9. First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers (21 deaths per 100,000 workers)

8. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers (24 deaths per 100,000 workers)

7. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers (26.8 deaths per 100,000 workers)

6. Structural iron and steel workers (33.4 deaths per 100,000 workers)

5. Refuse (garbage) and recyclable material collectors (35 deaths per 100,000 workers)

4. Roofers (45.2 deaths per 100,000 workers)

3. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers (48.6 deaths per 100,000 workers)

2. Logging workers (84.3 deaths per 100,000 workers)

1. Fishers and related fishing workers (99.8 deaths per 100,000 workers)

National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2017

Stay safe!