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Today’s Most Dangerous Jobs

Workplace Fatalities

In a culture that is filled with cubicle jobs that we’re quick to label boring, we can easily forget that some jobs are dangerous. Commuting through rush-hour traffic in a big city can feel like a life-or-death adventure every morning, but for many workers that risk disappears once they exit the six-lane highway and pull into a parking lot.

For other workers, however, physical risks are part of the job. Whether you’re a police officer on patrol or a construction worker building a skyscraper, danger is a daily concern.

The new workplace injury statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics are a mix of good and bad news. The good news: Fatal workplace injuries were down 28 percent in 2009 compared with 2008. The bad news: 4,340 workers still died as a result of on-the-job injuries. So we’re happy to see a reduction in fatal injuries, but don’t we want that number down to zero?

Which sectors had the biggest improvements?
If you look only at the raw numbers, here are the occupations with the most fatal injuries last year:

  • Transportation and material moving (1,376)
  • Construction and extraction (988)
  • Management (514)
  • Installation, maintenance and repair (317)
  • Sales and related (269)
  • Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance (248)
  • Protective service (243)
  • Farming, fishing and forestry (229)

The change in percentage of fatal workplace injuries by industry reorders the list a bit:

  • Transportation and material moving (28 percent decrease)
  • Protective service (21 percent decrease)
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (18 percent decrease)
  • Construction and extraction (16 percent decrease)
  • Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance (6 percent increase)
  • Resident military personnel (21 percent increase)

What does this tell us?
Although drawing conclusions from preliminary numbers is  tricky, you can make some general observations.

As the BLS notes, the construction industry has experienced significant setbacks since the recession began in 2007. Therefore, a reduction in fatalities could be linked to the reduction in construction jobs. Again, a mix of good and bad news.

Fewer deaths of law enforcement officers and firefighters helped with the decrease in fatal injuries for protective services. And while many cities have struggled with budget issues to compensate and retain law enforcement officers, they have not laid off workers on the same scale that construction has. Therefore, the decrease in fatalities seems to be a completely positive change that doesn’t correlate to fewer employed police officers and firefighters.

To read the full report from the BLS, visit its website here.

Bing: The riskiest jobs

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Most of what you say is supprisingly accurate and it makes me wonder why I hadn't looked at this in this light before. This piece really did turn the light on for me as far as this topic goes. But there is one point I am not too comfortable with and while I try to reconcile that with the central theme of your point, let me see what the rest of your readers have to say.Well done.

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GOD BLESS ALL THE PEOPLE THAT SERVED OUR COUNTRY

most dangerous job I had was in the auto industy as a crash dummy.

Theres danger in any job if you consider life from all angles I suppose. For me the most dangerous is being a mom & being an American. I worried for nine mos about keeping my most precious cargo safe. Then continue to worry for the rest of my life that my children will remain safe. So I too must say THANK YOU so VERY MUCH to ALL of our sons & daughters, husbands-daddys & brothers ~ wives-mommys & sisters~ to ALL of our brave fellow Americans who sign up in any branch of the Military to protect & serve our beautiful country, our rights and freedoms. I pray for the safe return of each and every brother or sister who goes off to unknown foreign countries to keep our country & our families safe. I know I am all to ignorant to the lengths that a lot of these people must go & I can only thank God that I will probably never have to know. We set here at our computers and ponder that question about dangerous jobs~ The military person & their mom & dad~ their family~( I have a nephew whom I was never personaly close to but am eternaly greatful to because he has served three tours in Iraq) Thats hard for each and every member of the family. As a mom myself I can only imagine HOW HARD it has got to be to send a child off, to have the heart wrenching awful wait for their safe return. My daily job isn't easy, I do in-home personal care for the less fortunate~ my client is part of my family so I have to go into her home every day & watch her struggle in her wheelchair, & watch as my 14 yr old sister struggles to lift her hand to try so hard to feed herself because she too is confined to a wheelchair forever & is totaly disabled due to spinal muscular atrophy. So all in all I consider my job a blessing. Just as I consider it a blessing to be an American. Thank You, ALL OF YOU who serve and protect me, my family, our country and all the people here & our freedoms.

Accept for that stuff about that 2012 crap though.

like it makes a frakin differance what u nerds all the most dangerous jobs is getting home alive after wherever u frackin were doing that day and moment enjoy its all over dec 21 2012 marc predicts

I totally agree with what you said 100%.

Let me tell all of you something, There is nothing more dangerous than the guys who have been to war either in Viet Nam, Iraq, Afganistan, or anywhere else. I have been to Iraq with 1-26 Infantry out of Schweinfurt, Germany and had the chance to serve with soldiers that gave their lives for there country every day becouse they were asked to and they volunteered for missions, that got a lot of them killed. We lost a lot of soldiers when I was there. Anyway, I just have to say in there is nothing that tops dangerous on the rictur scale like being in the middle or on the outskirts of the Bagdad Iraq getting shot at, mortar fire all day long, and dodging small arms and rocket fire, and not to to mention Improvized Explosive Devices, Car Bombs, and EFP's around every damn corner that you turn. I have had and worked many high hazardous jobs and nothing even comes close to the experience I had in Iraq.

To those who have served this great country, God Bless and Thank You for giving me the chance to get up in the am and go to work, to drive down the road with out getting blown up, and to think with out you , USA WAKE UP

I'm proud to be an American. Proud that many of you served in various capacities, in various wars. Thank you! Ashamed of some of these others on here that don't understand the sacrifices necessary to maintain our freedoms. I had uncles, brothers, father, daughter, son-in-laws, friends etc. who served in different branches in different places at different times. I applaud you all!

Like the author said the numbers are tricky. One flaw is that many construction accidents and fatalities are not actual construction accidents. They are car accidents where some idiot ran off the road and hit a construction worker.

Man the toughest job i had was on Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 there we were me and McTavish surrounded i tried to surrender but i couldnt the game wouldnt let me so i had to blow up the gas tanks and drive a snow mobile a couple miles and ramp more then a 100ft it was brutal until we got into the helicopter and flew away U.S. Rangers (2009-2010)

Yeah thanks for the Whoppers!

That's right pencil penis, the military guys have whoppers so stretch your mouth out you scump sucking worthless piece of excrement.

The most dangerous job I ever had was being a missionary surgeon in Africa. I don't think anybody thinks about missionaries and how they put their lives on the line for something they believe wholeheartedly in. Not only do many American doctors give up good money to help those less fortunate but they also walk through the valley of death day in and day out in many foreign countries. Here's to the MISSIONARY, just like the military, they are at the tip of the spear and they make a difference in peoples lives!

Navy Pilot..... carrier based

The safety of our guys is so important to us that we have even allowed light duty work for people injured off the job so they would not be without income. The almighty dollar is not the bottom line here. Employee safety is and yet we still manage to make a profit. We stage unannounced mock OSHA drills with an outside contractor periodically just to keep everyone on their toes. In PA the hospital or doctor who treats any employee injury is required by law to submit a report of the incident to OSHA. We even keep a log of near miss incidents which are always followed by safety training to avoid a real accident.

This was supposed to be a post about the most dangerous jobs, not a praise to the American army. So, to all of you Americans:
Your country and government are full of rednecks and anti-terror terrorists. Your army has fought for things that you have not grasped. Lives have been wasted for a bullshit cause. And all I can say is you are not half the Country Canada is.

why does everybody think military is the most dangerous
I think the military is just for dumb people whe dread suicide

leave the country now! you won't make a good daughter, wife or mother.

I can not stand non patriotic people like you. If you do not like it here go live in another country and see how you like it you ignorrant >>>>>>>......

COMBAT IN AH SHAH VALLEY, DAK TO, PLEI MRONG CENTRAL HIGHLANDS VIETNAM IN 1968, 4TH INFANTRY, BUT MEDICS WERE BRAVEST OF ALL, BULLETS-B40 ROCKETS DURING AMBUSH, THEY RAN 2 WOUNDED IN LINE OF FIRE, SAVED MY ASS SEVERAL TIMES, GOD BLESS THEM!

Can't we all just get along! Did I spell everything right?

I can not stand for people doing stupid crap, sorry I get bent when they say and do stupid things.

how can you all say ur proud to be an american. I am grateful for the soldiers but this country and the government is garbage to be thrown away. The government is all corrupt and care nothing for the people. Screw this country

Listen here you piece of crap, If you do not like this country go and live in Bagdad Iraq or somewhere in Afganistan where they will chop your head off and put you out of your non-country lovin ASS.

Get out!!!! Go live in Iraq or Afganistan or even Mexico. You think our gov is is bad. I will take a bad day here over a great day there any time.

The Co. I work for also has very few OSHA recordable incidents, they hand out 3 - 5 day suspensions so most employees refuse to report. We have a zero tolerence policy and safety bonus program also. Robert sounds a lot like our safety NAZI

the most dangerous jod for me was to babysit a loin from the zoo,caged of coarse

I worked in the private secti as a corrections officer and also as a ramp agent around commercial airplanes. To me that was my most dangerous jobs. God Bless our servicemen and women. I have two that are serving in the Navy.

To all who served in the armed forces, GOD BLESS YOU. Freedom is not free you all have paid the price, and some , let us not forget gave it all.

I am amazed that infantry jobs aren't on that top ten list. My son is a 0311 in the USMC and his job is extremely dangerous!

Thanks to all who have served and are currently serving! I appreciate you!

..........WALKING POINT HAS MY VOTE AS THE MOST DANGEROUS~~....

Management is on the list again. I wonder why?
#1.. If they didn't treat some of their employees like crap.
#2..If they stopped playing favorites with the kiss-assers or brown nosers.
#3..Think their s__t doesn't think.
I could go on and on about my manager. The snot nosed little punk will get his some day!

Your s_t thinks too? I thought I was the only one! Thank gods!

Go ! Go ! Gooooo !!!! Taliban !

The most dangerous job, was when I talked back to my MOTHER!!!

wow the most dangerouse job i would say is being a jail worden

how about landing on a aircraft carrier,north of the artic circle, at night, in close to hurricane cnditions...with the low fuel warning lights glowing in the cockpit....

As I read more....Thanks to all those that have served our country.

That's right. If it hadn't been for those brave souls, I would have to fix my own Big Mac instead of having someone serve it to me thru the drive thru window.

Hey the military guys would love to serve it to you with their foot ...right up your alimentary canal..."would you like fries with that? Oh, yes, we'll supersize it for you.

Huey Crewchief for ten years. 1500 flight hours and only crashed twice. How did management make the list? must have been a lot of disgrunteled employees shooting thier manager. :) Infantry is the most dangerous. I flew them in and out. Always less coming out than going in.

No matter what job you do, you always should think doing the best so job can be as safest as possible.

Medic in the Army is not that easy, speacially in war zones (Iraq, Afghanistan), if somebody think different I strongly believe is wrong, but people never went there to "taste it"

I wish everyone to have a good day.

Ok...who...the...*&$%...CARES. That is all...=)

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