5 Jobs With Higher Fatality Rates Than Law Enforcement

Police officers are lauded for putting their lives on the line to serve their communities. Despite the dangers of police work, statistics show there are numerous other occupations with higher fatality rates than law enforcement.

In 2015, there were 63 law enforcement officer fatalities from Jan. 1 to June 29, only 1 more than that of 2014, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Each year approximately 60,000 officers are assaulted and 16,000 are injured on the job.

However, a 2014 Bureau of Labor Statistics report revealed several occupations with higher incidences of fatalities. The BLS pointed out that there were 97 fatalities among law enforcement workers in 2013, a 20 percent drop from the previous year.

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Here are the U.S. jobs with the highest incidences of fatal injuries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

1. Construction
With a reported 796 fatal occupational injuries in 2013, the construction industry has been branded the most dangerous industry in the United States. Though the construction industry had the highest number of fatalities (796 in 2013), the fatality rate per 100,000 workers is 9.4 percent.

2. Transportation and Warehousing
In 2013, transportation and warehousing industry workers had 687 worker fatal injuries and a fatal occupational injury rate of 13.1 percent.

3. Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
These industries saw 479 fatal injuries in 2013. The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industries have the highest fatal occupational injury rate of any other U.S. industry. The rate is 22.2 percent. Logging workers have the highest number of fatal injuries in the United States with fishery workers being a close second.

4. Government Workers
Government workers endured 476 fatal occupational injuries in 2013, at a rate of 2 percent per 100,000 workers.

5. Professional and Business Services
A seemingly benign industry, there were 408 fatal occupational injuries in the professional and business services sector in 2013. Still, the fatal occupational industry rate is only 2.6 percent.

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