ORLANDO, Fla. — Logging workers had the highest fatal workplace injury rate among occupations highlighted in the latest federal data, recording 110.4 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2024.
That rate was more than 33 times the nationwide rate of 3.3 deaths per 100,000 workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
An analysis by PlayCasino.com sorted the federal occupation data by fatal injury rate rather than the total number of deaths.
The 10 occupations with the highest rates in the analysis were:
- Logging workers: 110.4 deaths per 100,000 workers, 51 deaths
- Fishing and hunting workers: 88.8, 24 deaths
- Roofers: 48.7, 104 deaths
- Structural iron and steel workers: 37.8, 14 deaths
- Refuse and recyclable material collectors: 37.4, 36 deaths
- Aircraft pilots and flight engineers: 36.7, 73 deaths
- Helpers in construction trades: 35.8, 18 deaths
- Underground mining machine operators: 35.6, 12 deaths
- Driver/sales workers and truck drivers: 25.7, 950 deaths
- Grounds maintenance workers: 20.9, 239 deaths
The rates measure fatalities relative to the size of each occupation, meaning jobs with smaller workforces can rank highly despite recording fewer total deaths.
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers illustrate that distinction. The occupation ranked ninth by rate but recorded 950 fatalities, the largest total among the 10 occupations.
The hazards also differed considerably among jobs.
Contact with objects or equipment accounted for 40 of the 51 logging deaths. Transportation incidents caused 16 of the 24 deaths among fishing and hunting workers and 24 of the 36 deaths among refuse and recyclable material collectors.
Falls, slips and trips accounted for 83 of the 104 deaths among roofers.
Nationwide, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 5,070 fatal work injuries in 2024, down 4% from 5,283 in 2023. A worker died from a job-related injury every 104 minutes.
Transportation incidents were the leading cause, accounting for 1,937 deaths, or about 38% of the nationwide total. Falls, slips and trips caused 844 deaths.
In Florida, 284 people died from workplace injuries in 2024, down 7.2% from the previous year. The state’s fatal injury rate fell from 3.1 to 2.9 deaths per 100,000 workers, according to a regional BLS report.
Transportation incidents caused 109 workplace deaths in Florida, while falls, slips and trips caused 66. Construction recorded the most fatalities of any private industry sector in the state, with 88 deaths.
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