Construction, Work at Heights, and Forklift Operation <br>Included in List of &ldquo;Least Safe&rdquo; Summer Jobs for Teens

June 15, 2005 — The National Consumers League (NCL), based in Washington, D.C., recently issued the “2005 Five Worst Teen Jobs,” calling for parents and teens to reconsider the serious dangers of many forms of summer employment. Each year, the group compiles this list using government statistics and reports, results from the Child Labor Coalition's annual survey of state labor departments, and news accounts of injuries and deaths.

When considering summer employment options, NCL cautions teens and parents to remember that every 30 seconds, a young worker is injured on the job, and one teen dies from a workplace injury every five days. According to the Department of Labor, fatalities among working youth climbed to 175 deaths in 2001.

No. 2 on the list is Construction and Work at Heights. Despite existing prohibitions that address specific types of hazardous construction work, it remains the third leading cause of death among young workers. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, youth 15 to 17 years of age working in construction had greater than seven times the risk for fatal injury as youth in other industries, and greater than twice the risk of workers 25 to 44 years of age working in construction.

Ranking fourth on the list is Driver/Operator of Forklifts, Tractors and All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs): Most deaths involving forklifts were caused by working around them • being run over, struck by the machine or its cargo, or pinned by a forklift, or riding as a passenger. Tractor-related accidents are the most prevalent cause of agricultural fatality in the United States. Increasingly, tractors are being used in non-agricultural work as well, with resulting injuries and fatalities to young workers. Increasingly, ATVs are showing up in the workplace and follow the same risk of overturns and rollovers as tractors. Persons under the age of 16 were the victims of 38 percent of all reported ATV-related deaths for all ages between 1982 and 2001.

For the complete list, including statistics and examples of injuries for each job detailed in the original report, go to the NCL's “2005 Five Worst Teen Jobs.”