North Dakota Worker Death Rate Nation’s Highest

The nation’s largest labor federation says North Dakota continues to have the highest worker death rate in the U.S., with 17.7 fatalities per 100,000 employees in 2012.

The data comes from an AFL-CIO report slated to be released next week.

The 2012 rate is a dramatic increase from the 7 deaths per 100,000 workers recorded in 2007 before the state’s oil and economic boom took off.

North Dakota also had the highest worker fatality rate in the nation in 2011. There were 12.4 deaths per 100,000 employees that year.

The national worker fatality rate was 3.5 deaths per 100,000 employees in 2011.

AFL-CIO says other states that showed high worker fatality rates include Wyoming, Alaska, West Virginia and South Dakota.