Top 10 Most Hazardous Careers and Industries in 2025
As industry and technology rapidly evolve, safety challenges grow more complex. For EHS professionals and OEMs, mitigating acute risk in high-hazard environments is critical. This guide, drawing on the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, identifies the ten most hazardous industries projected for 2025 and details how the implementation of compliant visual communication is essential to helping reduce incidents.
The 10 Most High-Risk Industries and Clarion Safety's Solutions
The industries below are ranked based on their fatal work injury rate per 100,000 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) workers in the 2023 BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) data.
1. Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (Fatal Rate: 20.3 per 100K)
Risk Mitigation Focus:
Given the extreme outdoor conditions and heavy machinery use, durable, weather-resistant hazard communication is non negotiable.
Clarion Safety Solution
We provide specialized, high-durability outdoor safety signs and custom machine hazard labels designed to resist UV exposure, chemicals, and abrasion. These ANSI/ISO compliant labels ensure warnings about tractor PTOs, logging hazards, and chemical storage remain legible and effective over long periods in rugged environments.
2. Mining, Quarrying, Oil & Gas Extraction (Fatal Rate: 16.9 per 100K)
Risk Mitigation Focus:
The constant threat of confined spaces, high voltage, and explosive materials demands immediate and unequivocal hazard warnings.
Clarion Safety Solution
Clarion Safety supplies critical high-voltage signs, confined space entry labels, and explosion/flammable material warnings. Our labels and tags are engineered with robust materials to withstand underground or extreme chemical environments, ensuring compliance with both ANSI and ISO best practices.
3. Transportation & Warehousing (Fatal Rate: 12.9 per 100K)
Risk Mitigation Focus:
Mitigating roadway incidents, loading dock hazards, and the growing complexity of human-automated interfaces.
Clarion Safety Solution
We offer high-visibility vehicle markings and durable warning labels for loading dock equipment, including visual cues for potential crush and pinch points. We also provide standardized pedestrian/vehicle segregation signs that comply with the latest ANSI standards, crucial for optimizing safety in fast paced logistics hubs.
4. Construction and Trades (Fatal Rate: 9.6 per 100K)
Risk Mitigation Focus:
The high frequency of falls, struck-by incidents, and contact with equipment requires clear, temporary, and permanent hazard demarcation.
Clarion Safety Solution
Clarion Safety manufactures ANSI Z535 compliant job site safety signage for fall protection zones, scaffolding, and trenching hazards. Our portable and permanent labels and tags clearly mark crushing hazards, equipment operation procedures, and lockout/tagout (LOTO) points, directly helping to support site safety protocols.
5. Utilities & Electrical Work (High Risk, Severe Incident Potential)
Risk Mitigation Focus:
Protecting workers from arc flash, high voltage, and confined space hazards in substations and transmission lines.
Clarion Safety Solution
We specialize in providing NFPA 70E compliant Arc-Flash Hazard Labels and High-Voltage Warning Signs. Our expertise ensures that these warnings meet specific clarity, color, and durability requirements necessary for utility-grade electrical equipment and remote infrastructure.
6. Wholesale Trade (Fatal Rate: 5.4 per 100K)
Risk Mitigation Focus:
Addressing high-frequency incidents related to forklift operation, material storage, and slips/trips in congested retail and wholesale warehouse settings.
Clarion Safety Solution
Clarion Safety provides ANSI Z535 labels for all material handling equipment, racks, and storage systems, along with high-visibility floor markings and general safety signs that direct traffic flow and highlight potential impact hazards.
7. Manufacturing (Fatal Rate: 2.5 per 100K)
Risk Mitigation Focus:
Controlling energy, safeguarding machinery, and clearly communicating hazards in areas involving complex assembly and automated processes.
Clarion Safety Solution
As a leading supplier to OEMs, we provide the necessary ANSI/ISO hazard labels for machine guarding, pinch points, hot surfaces, and electrical panels. Our products are integrated directly onto machinery to help support safe operation, maintenance, and LOTO procedures.
8. Renewable Energy / Battery Manufacturing (Emerging Hazard Domains)
Risk Mitigation Focus:
Addressing the novel risks associated with high voltage in solar and wind farms, and fire/thermal runaway hazards in lithium ion battery storage.
Clarion Safety Solution
We develop specialized high-voltage warning labels and fire hazard signs that can be tailored for battery storage areas and renewable energy components (e.g., inverters, wind turbine nacelles). Our custom labels can clearly communicate the precise nature of these new energy system hazards, improving first responder safety and operational compliance.
9. Logistics & E-Commerce Fulfillment (Emerging Hazard Domains)
Risk Mitigation Focus:
Managing dynamic risk at human-robot interaction zones, conveyor systems, and Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) paths.
Clarion Safety Solution
Clarion Safety designs signs and labels that can address the specific moving hazards of modern warehouses, including conveyor pinch point warnings and signage that clearly demarcates pedestrian areas from automated vehicle paths. This specialized communication helps prevent contact injuries in fast-moving fulfillment centers.
10. Public Safety / Emergency Response (Unpredictable Risk Environment)
Risk Mitigation Focus:
Ensuring first responders can instantly identify hazards—chemical, biological, or electrical—under stressful, time critical conditions.
Clarion Safety Solution
We provide highly visible and durable hazard communication products for hazardous environments, including clear labels for specialized equipment and signage for hazardous material response zones, ensuring critical information is communicated immediately.
Proactive Risk Reduction: Action Steps with Clarion Safety
Mitigating risk in these high hazard industries requires a strategic focus on standardized visual communication.
EHS Professionals & Facility Managers Should:
- Audit for Compliance: Utilize a Clarion Safety label consultation service to ensure all existing signage and labels meet the latest ANSI Z535 and ISO 3864 standards for placement, durability, and content.
- Update Visuals: Replace outdated, non-compliant, or worn labels with current ANSI/ISO safety signs at the point of interaction with the hazard.
- Leverage Expertise: Partner with Clarion Safety for custom facility signage and risk assessment support, focusing on new hazard domains like automation.
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) Should:
- Design In Safety: Integrate Clarion Safety's ANSI/ISO hazard labels during the product design phase to ensure compliance before equipment delivery.
- Standardize Globally: Use Clarion Safety's expertise in ISO 3864 and ISO 7010 graphic symbols to ensure universal hazard recognition for globally distributed equipment.
- Prioritize Durability: Select materials from Clarion Safety that match the anticipated environmental stress (e.g., mining, chemical exposure, or extreme temperatures) to maintain legibility and compliance for the equipment's lifespan.
