This Is the Most Dangerous Job in America

This article was written with the assistance of A.I. technology, and has been edited and fact-checked by Melly Alazraki.

The logging industry workers known as fallers have the most dangerous job in America, with a fatal work injury rate of 589.3 per 100,000 workers – over 160 times the national average of 3.6 fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers – according to the 2021 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The common cause of fatal injury for fallers is contact with a machine or object, such as a log.
The logging, forestry, and tree-trimming businesses in general are some of the most dangerous in America.

In addition to fallers, responsible for cutting down trees, other logging workers with a high risk of injury or death include markers, who designate which trees are to be felled; buckers, who trim and cut the fallen trees; tree climbers; choke setters, who attach cables to the logs for transport; rigging slingers, who set up and dismantle the cables, and log sorters.

Commercial divers, industrial fishers, and many types of blue-collar jobs in the country’s oil and gas fields are also high-risk occupations. These jobs are often dangerous because of the nature of the work, the equipment used, and the working conditions.

Click here to see the most dangerous jobs in America.