When you think of dangerous jobs, the first thing that likely comes to your mind is something like police officer or a firefighter, something daring and dangerous. You likely wouldn’t think of nursing home aide or fish farming, neither seeming to be especially death defying. Though they may not sound like particularly terrifying professions, the latest survey by the U.S. Labor Department indicates they are among the most dangerous jobs for workers in terms of the number of on-the-job injuries. To learn more, keep reading.
According to the Labor Department survey, there were about 2.9 million nonfatal workplace accidents and injuries last year in the private sector. Public sector jobs accounted for an additional 750,000. These numbers mean that three of every 100 full-time employees suffered some form of injury or illness due to their work.
It’s important to remember that these rates are averages, and that the rates for individual professions can vary widely. For instance, those working in the aquaculture industry, meaning those responsible for fish farming, have the highest rate of non-deadly injury, coming in at a whopping 13.6 injuries per 100 full-time workers, several times more than average.