Missouri Workplace Fatalities Plummet in 2010

Watch out for that tractor, Homer!

​So here's the good news: Workplace fatalities in Missouri are down significantly in 2010, even as the national number holds steady, according to the Missouri Department of Labor.

But here's the bad news: You might want to think twice about becoming a farmer.

Across the state, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting jobs actually held the lead for the most deaths in 2010, beating out what we might have assumed was an obvious winner: construction.

And, of the 25 deaths recorded in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, a surprising number -- 23 -- were in seemingly innocuous "crop production." It turns out it's not your hunting buddy who's likely to kill you on the job -- it's that guy driving the tractor!
The hard-and-fast numbers, per the Missouri Department of Labor:

Fatal workplace injuries in Missouri in 2008: 148
Fatal workplace injuries in Missouri in 2009: 142
Fatal workplace injuries in Missouri in 2010: 107
Percentage change from 2009 to 2010: 25 percent

Number of male victims in 2010: 100
Number of white, non-Hispanic victims in 2010: 96
Sector hit the hardest: agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (25 deaths)
Incidents that proved most deadly: transportation (60 deaths, with 18 of them in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting)