Trucking was one of the most dangerous industries for workers last year, when 474 workers died on the job, a 13.9% increase over the previous year, the Labor Department said in a preliminary report.
General freight trucking accounted for 295 workplace deaths — 16.1% higher than 2010. The remaining 156 were in specialized trucking, a 12.2% jump from 2010, Labor said.
For trucking, the figure represented “the second consecutive year that counts have risen in this sector after reaching a series low in 2009,” the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a statement.
Only the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector had more deaths, along with total of all government employment fatalities.
Overall workplace fatalities fell 1.8% to 4,609, or 3.5 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, BLS said. The rate in 2010 was 3.6 per 100,000 FTEs.
The overall decrease is “a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done,” Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said in a statement.
“It’s clear that we must maintain our commitment to ensuring our workplaces are safer and healthier for every American,” Solis said.
