WORKING –

Oct. 6, 2023 – Overdoses killed 163 of every 100,000 people who usually worked in construction and extraction in 2020, whether they were on the job or not, making it by far the most dangerous major occupation, drug-wise. Restaurant jobs were second at 118 deaths per 100,000, according to new data from Rachael Billock, Andrea Steege and Arialdi Miniño at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where the National Vital Statistics System collects state and local data on every death in the country.

This is the first time the CDC has published such comprehensive and detailed numbers linking jobs and overdoses, which the authors separately wrote was made possible by “funeral directors across the country who take time to speak with decedents’ loved ones and record [industry and occupation] on the death certificate.” This first release lacks data from D.C. and a few states (Iowa, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Arizona), but the data gaps should close in coming years.

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