America’s Most Dangerous Professions

Hospitality & Retail work nine times more dangerous than manufacturing, according to new study

After one of the most tumultuous years in recent history, with thousands of Americans out of work for months on end, the return to some sort of normality has had a massive impact on the ever-changing job market here in the United States. With unemployment rates finally levelling out*, there is a seemingly brighter future ahead for out-of-work Americans.

As more and more jobs become available, many workers will find themselves starting a new chapter in their careers, potentially within a completely new industry or role. So, as personal injury lawyers, we’ve decided to try and help inform workers on the risks attached to each of the different sectors here in the United States.

To do this we analyzed fatality and injury rates across 12 of the biggest employment sectors in the US, to give each industry/role its own unique David Aylor Risk Rating (DARR). The professions with the highest DA Risk Rating were deemed the most dangerous.

Agriculture and forestry was revealed to be the most dangerous profession, with a DARR of 39,870, while Hospitality & Retail roles were found to be nine times more dangerous than manufacturing jobs.

The twelve most dangerous professions, their DARR, and their median average salary, are:

Despite agriculture and farming topping the list of the most dangerous careers, it has a median wage of $27,566***, which is 59% lower than the national average of $51,168****.

The research shows that professionals working within the agriculture and farming industry are 95 times more likely to be involved in an accident or fatality than professional and business service workers.

The unemployment rate in America (6.1%), and the number of unemployed persons (9.8 million), has changed very little since March 2021 – showing a stabilization in unemployment numbers across the country. This data also demonstrates there are more Americans entering the workforce once again since the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic – something we’re all very happy to see.

David Aylor, founding attorney of David Aylor Law Offices, said, “With the damages of the past year still impacting the job market, and more and more Americans beginning new chapters in their professional lives, we thought it was important to have a look at which professions really are the safest (or most dangerous). “As personal injury lawyers we’re in a unique position to delve into issues surrounding workplace injuries/deaths, and the publicly available data we interrogated has given us a definitive list of the highest risk roles in the United States. “I wasn’t surprised to see outdoor work finishing atop the list – as you can probably imagine the potential risks working as a logger or farmer are far greater than an office worker. Our hope is that whatever profession you’re in, whether you’re an agricultural worker or a civil attorney, you are able to stay safe and secure.”

SOURCES

*https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
**https://www.bls.gov/iif/
***https://www.thebalancecareers.com/average-salary-information-for-us-workers-2060808
****https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/agricultural-worker/salary/