Of the top ten deadliest jobs in the USA, being a lumberjack or logger is the deadliest for fatalities per 100,000 full time workers. Fishermen and those working in the fisheries industry come in second, after being first for several years, followed by Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers in third place. This is all according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.
When we look at the gender rates of job fatalities, an overwhelming 92% of job fatalities that occur are male with only 8% female. The highest area of job fatalities within an industry is transportation incidents at 41% and the largest age demographic for job fatality occurs between 45 to 54 year olds. In contrast, some of the safest employment areas to be in include computers, mathematical and legal industries.
However, different countries have varying jobs that are higher risk than others. While in the US the logging industry may be the highest risk, in Canada, fishing and trapping is the riskiest job. In New Zealand, fishing and farming are respectively the riskiest jobs. Commercial fishing is the riskiest job in Australia and farming is the riskiest job in both the UK and Republic of Ireland.
It is not just the employment situation of an individual that makes what they do on a regular basis high risk for insurers though. Hobbies and lifestyle choices can play a big part in this too. 1, in 1000 people have a chance of fatality when hang gliding and motorbike racing for example, which is extremely high. Other very high risk hobbies include rock or mountain climbing at 1, in 1750 people suffering a fatality and boxing at 1, in 2,200 people.
