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Hispanics More Likely To Die On The Job Than Others

Posted on: Thursday, 5 June 2008, 18:27 CDT

A recent report published from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Hispanic workers die at higher rates than other workers.

The study showed that Hispanics are more likely to take high-risk jobs than workers of other racial groups.

Other possible factors include language and literacy barriers as well as poor training and supervision. Also, 1 and 3 of these deaths occurred in the construction industry, the leading cause being falls and highway-related accidents.

"Many of the Hispanic workers in construction are undocumented, and many of those who are recently arrived do face a language barrier," said Rakesh Kochhar, associated director for research at the Pew Hispanic Center.

"A language barrier hinders understanding of a job, or the risks associated with it, or safety precautions," said Kochhar, who was not part of the new study.

Conducted by researchers in Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey, the report noted more than 11,000 Hispanic work-related deaths in the U.S . from 1992-2006.

The researchers calculated an annual death rate of 5 per 100,000 Hispanic workers in 2006. But the rate for foreign-born Hispanics, roughly 6 per 100,000, was far higher than the 3.5 for those born in the United States.

The rate for non-Hispanic white workers was 4. For blacks, it was 3.7.

Their information was collected from death certificates, police reports, workers’ compensation reports and other sources.

"The burden of risk is primarily on foreign-born workers," said Scott Richardson, a Bureau of Labor Statistics program director.

Murder on the job was the most common cause of death among Hispanic workers from 1992-96. After that, highway accidents became the leading type of accidents, and falls have become the leading cause of death in 2000 and 2006, researchers said.

In recent years, about 70 percent of the foreign-born fatalities were from Mexico.

In 2003 through 2006, the highest numbers of Hispanic work-related deaths were in California, with 773 deaths; Texas, with 687; and Florida, with 417.

The highest death rate – about 23 per 100,000 - came from Hispanic workers in South Carolina.

Their findings will be published this week in the CDC’s Morbidit and Mortality Weekly Report.

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On the Net:

Work-Related Injury Deaths Among Hispanics --- United States, 1992--2006

Source: redOrbit Staff and Wire Reports

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