New Jersey is home to many successful businesses, including quite a few that operate in high-risk industries. From casinos that may attract criminal activity to manufacturing and construction jobs, there are a variety of high-risk professions that experience more worker deaths and injuries than most other private industries.
When looking at workplace safety data from New Jersey, a few professions stand out as particularly dangerous. The following are the highest-risk professions in New Jersey, according to work injury data from 2020.
Transportation-related work
There were 2.9 worker injuries in the transportation, trade and utilities sectors reported per 100 full-time workers in 2020. The risks in this profession relate to the possibility of a motor vehicle collision, as well as the physical risk that comes from entering manufacturing spaces and warehouses. Jobs that fall in this field include commercial driving (including semi-trucks and buses), delivery driving and utility support work.
Manufacturing work
Manufacturing work had the highest rate of non-fatal injury among private, goods-producing industries. There were 2.6 injuries reported for every 100 full-time workers. Despite having many regulations aimed at worker safety, the manufacturing sector is consistently a leading source of severe worker injury and a contributor to worker fatality statistics each year in New Jersey. Jobs within this niche include most factory and industrial blue-collar professions. These workers saw higher rates of injury than those in construction or even miners.
Health and education work
Those working in health and education saw a massive increase in on-the-job injuries between 2019 and 2020. This sector reported 6.8 injuries per 100 full-time workers in 2020, which was the highest for any industry. Teachers, educational support professionals, nurses and other hospital workers are among those most likely to end up hurt on the job. Some of this spike resulted from exposure to infectious diseases, but there has also been an alarming increase in the number of workplace violence incidents reported, especially in medical settings.
Most of these injured workers, unless they are independent contractors, may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits to cover treatment costs and lost wages. As a result, seeking legal guidance after sustaining work-related harm in any industry in New Jersey is generally wise.