Working in the United States has practically never been safer. Still, more than 4,500 people died on the job in 2011, the latest year the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported their most grim report.



Here are some of the jobs with the highest rate of work-related deaths: In other words, the most dangerous occupations in America (via Planet Money).



That's right: Firemen are less likely to die on the job than the average U.S. worker.



There is no more dangerous mainstream job in the United States than being a fisherman, where the most common way to die is drowning. But there's good news: fishing deaths are down by half since 2009. Fascinatingly, Planet Money reports that "most pilots who die on the job are flying propeller-driven planes" and "the typical pilot killed in the line of duty is someone flying a crop duster, not a commercial jet."



People who do die at work are ...

1) MORE LIKELY TO BE DRIVING: Driving sales workers and truck drivers accounted for 16% of all work-related deaths. In general, transportation incidents account for two out of five work-related deaths in the U.S.



2) MORE LIKELY TO BE OLD: Workers who are 65 and older are almost five times more likely to die on the job than workers in their 20s.

3) MORE LIKELY TO BE MEN: Men account for 57 percent of the hours worked in the U.S. but 92 percent of on-the-job deaths.









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