Work Buzz News
Most Dangerous Jobs
Many of us go to our jobs without even thinking that we could suffer a paper cut or be exposed to a more significant hazard in our work engagement. There are thousands of other workers who place themselves in danger every time they punch the clock. From to inner-city violence and crime to acts of nature - these professionals risk their lives to provide us with information, build our roads and homes, keep the community safe, our supermarket shelves stocked and utilities running.
In August 2009, the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics released its annual report identifying the industries and occupations that had the most fatal work injuries. In 2008, there were 5,071 fatal work injuries and a fatality rate of 3.6 per 100,000 workers in the US. While this figure seems to be lowering due to wider dissemination of occupational health information and increased awareness of workplace safety, there are other psychological factors associated with dangerous and high-risk occupations which need to be considered and explored further in research.
The United States Bureau of Labour Statistics suggests that the recent economic downtown has contributed to the decline in the number of fatalities. Surprised? Well, due to the fact that there were fewer jobs available, there were automatically fewer workers susceptible injury or harm overall, but this finding only partially explains the observed trend. On the flip side, the volatility of the US economy in recent times has been correlated to the rise of workplace suicides, which were reported to be up 28 percent (251 cases) in 2008. Whether the gradual recovery of Western economies is later associated with lowered workplace suicide rates remains to be seen.
There is a dearth of information on the most dangerous jobs within the ASEAN, however we were curious to see, based on the most up-to-date survey of jobs in the United States, which occupations ranked as the most hazardous.