Ranking Charlotte’s riskiest jobs

When you walk, bike, ride the bus or drive around Charlotte, you see people doing a wide variety of jobs with varying degrees of risk involved. From crane operators to taxi cab drivers to office workers to retail clerks and beyond, the dangers of workplace accidents and injuries shifts from job to job.

Which of the jobs you would see on a trip around Charlotte is the riskiest? According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the two most dangerous occupations in America are unlikely to be performed in our city, though both can be seen across North Carolina: logging and fishing.

Our state has an active lumber industry, of course, and loggers take on America’s most dangerous job. There are an astounding 132.7 deaths per 100,000 loggers in the U.S. The nation’s second most dangerous occupation — commercial fishing — has a fatality rate of less than half of logging’s rate.

The third riskiest occupation: pilots and flight engineers, with 40.4 deaths per 100,000 workers.

Here’s a quick look at some of the other risky occupations:

• Roofing: 39.7 deaths per 100,000
• Garbage collectors: 38.8 deaths per 100,000
• Truckers: 24.3 deaths per 100,000
• Electrical and telecommunications line workers: 20.5 deaths per 100,000
• Taxi drivers: 14.7 deaths per 100,000
• Construction workers: 12.5 deaths per 100,000
• Firefighters and police officers: 6.2 deaths per 100,000
• Manufacturing and production workers: 3 deaths per 100,000

Many workplace accidents, injuries and fatalities could be avoided with better training and a commitment by employers and employees alike to safety.

Injured workers can apply for North Carolina workers’ compensation benefits. If the claim is denied, you can appeal with a workers’ comp appeal attorney.