Older people dying on job at higher rate than all workers
The number of older employees fatally hurt on the job have increased, even while overall workplace fatalities have decreased, a trend that is troubling given that more employees are continuing to work past the traditional retirement age. An Associated Press analysis on federal statistics reports that in 2015, over 35% of workplace fatalities were those who were over 55 years old. The workplace fatality rate had decreased overall by 22 percent between 2006 and 2015, but the rate of older employees dying was 50 to 65% higher than other workers. The analysis did not include natural deaths from heart attack or stroke. Nevada, Washington, and New Jersey were the states with the highest increase in older worker fatalities, with Hawaii, Oregon, and Vermont having the biggest decrease. U.S government estimates predict that by 2024, 25% of the labor market will be over 65.
See "Older people dying on job at higher rate than all workers", Maria Ines Zamudio and Michelle Minkoff , The Washington Post, August 2, 2017