When you think of dangerous jobs, you may envision firefighting or law enforcement. While police and firefighters do face risks, their jobs are not on a list of the 10 most dangerous jobs compiled by FinancesOnline.com. The personal finance website created the list based on the 2012 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.
The list is particularly relevant for Pennsylvania workers as it includes many common occupations in the state, as sanatogapost.com noted recently.
According to the list, the most dangerous jobs are:
10. Construction Laborer
Fatality rate: 17.4 deaths per 100,000 workers
Dangers: Falls, dangerous equipment, power tools
Average annual pay: $34,500
9. Farmers, Ranchers, Agricultural Managers
Fatality Rate: 21.3 per 100,000 workers
Dangers: Machinery, animals
Average annual pay: $73,700
8. Drivers, Sales Workers, Truck Drivers
Fatality rate: 22.1 per 100,000 workers
Dangers: Roadway collisions
Average annual pay: $27,700
7. Electrical Power Line Installers and Repairers
Fatality rate: 23 per 100,000 workers.
Dangers: Heights, exposure to electricity
Average annual pay: $62,300
6. Refuse, Recyclable Material Collector
Fatality rate: 27.1 per 100,000 workers
Dangers: Collisions, dangerous equipment, hazardous material
Average annual pay: $35,200
5. Structural Iron and Steel Workers
Fatality rate: 37 per 100,000 workers
Dangers: Heights, welding, heavy materials
Average annual pay: $50,700
4. Roofers
Fatality rate: 40.5 per 100,000 workers
Dangers: Heights. heat
Average annual pay: $38,800
3. Pilots, Flight Engineers
Fatality rate: 53.4 per 100,000 workers
Dangers: Take-off, landing, air disturbances
Average annual pay: $128,800
2. Fishers, Fishing Workers
Fatality rate: 117 per 100,000 workers
Dangers: Sea disturbances, drowning, heavy equipment
Average annual pay: $36, 900
1. Loggers
Fatality rate: 127.4 per 100,000 workers
Dangers: Falling trees, dangerous equipment, steep landscape
Annual average pay: $34,600
Overall, fatal work accidents throughout the United States have declined over the past two decades. Your chance of being involved in a fatal workplace accident today is 29 percent less than it was in 1992; however, too many workplace accidents still happen.
