What Were the Most Dangerous Jobs of 2011?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has a variety of interesting work-based informational nuggets to track and share when asked. Among them is the grim task of measuring how many work-place injuries and deaths have occurred each and every year.
There are a lot of difficult tasks out there that gotta be done, and some of them pay pretty darn well, if you don't mind dealing death a hand on a daily basis. CNN Money dug through the BLS's recent release of the 2011 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and found the top ten ways to put your life at risk for a paycheck.
#1: Still the Deadliest Catch
Taking to the high seas to bring dinner to our tables remains the most dangerous job. According to the BLS, 121.2 out of every 100,000 fishermen died on the job last year, although over the last seven years the once top-of-the-list Alaskan King Crab netting has dropped its mortality rate. Maybe it was due to viewer response to Discovery Channel's series "Deadliest Catch", or the industry realizing it was being watched by those who ultimately made a choice in the grocery store.
Median salary for the effort? $30,220. Maybe time to take back the statement about these jobs paying well...
#2: Timberrrrr...
Half as dangerous as fishing, in terms of occupational deaths, comes logging for America's timber, as might be expected by hanging out on a daily basis with over-worked loggers slinging long, portable, rapidly spinning chains of sharpened metal teeth. Throw in falling branches, timbering trees, giant machinery and scary terrain and you get 102.4 deaths per 100,000 workers.
Median salary? At $37,360 a year, maybe it's time for some fishermen to trade the crab legs for some steel-toed boots and hard hats.
#3: Death in the Skies
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