Logging, Landscaping Most Dangerous Jobs In U.S.

Mussi Katz

Logging and landscaping are the most dangerous jobs in the United States, a new study finds. Penn State researchers found the risk of death for loggers is more than 30 times higher than for all U.S. workers. Tree care workers also encounter hazards at rates far higher than a typical worker. For the study, researchers looked through a U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration database for deaths from tree falling between 2010 and the first half of 2020. Overall, they found 314 deaths, with the leading cause being struck by a tree, most often in the head. Bad decision making was a key component of fatal incidents, and in some cases, bystanders were killed due to the actions of others. Years such as 2012, 2017, and 2018, with abnormally high damage from Atlantic storms saw high numbers of landscaping deaths that might be related to storm damage, while 2014 and 2015 had quiet hurricane seasons and few deaths.