Jobs

The Most Dangerous Job in America

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: December 22, 2023 6:50 am

Once a year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issues its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary. The most recent report covers 2022. There were 5,486 fatal accidents that year, up 5.7% from the year before. Viewed another way, it was 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers.

The most dangerous job category was “transportation and material moving” at 1,620 (14.6 fatalities per 100,000 full-time workers). The largest subset was “motor vehicle operators” at 1,198, up from 1,103 in 2021. According to the report: “The increase was due to fatalities to driver/sales workers and truck drivers increasing by 8.0 percent, from 1,032 fatalities in 2021 to 1,115 in 2022.”

The second most dangerous job was “construction and extraction occupations” at 1,056. This group included boiler makers, construction workers, ironworkers, electricians and plumbers. (See what is the worst job in America according to data.)

The job with the fewest fatalities was “legal occupations” at 11. That was followed by “computer and mathematical occupations,” with 12 fatalities for the year.

There were some notable observations beyond job type. One is race. Black fatalities were 4.2 out of 100,000 full-time workers. Among Hispanics and Latinos, the figure was 4.6 per 100,000.

These are the jobs with the largest number of fatalities:

• Transportation and material moving occupations (1,620)
• Construction and extraction occupations (1,056)
• Installation, maintenance and repair occupations (431)
• Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (352)
• Management occupations (342)
• Protective service occupations (335)
• Production occupations (268)
• Farming, fishing and forestry occupations (223)
• Sales and related occupations (212)
• Food preparation and serving related occupations (123)