Higher mortality rate for manual workers

New figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that manual workers are more than twice as likely to die early than workers in managerial or professional jobs.

The ratio between manual and white-collar saw those in manual work twice as likely to die before the age of 65 in 2001 but that had risen to 2.3 by 2008. It is the first time that annual comparative mortality statistics have been published and uses seven classes of the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification.

The mortality rates were previously only produced every 10 years using the national census but are now produced for eight consecutive years in Health Statistics Quarterly. The ONS says that this will give a more up to date picture of health trends and will help in monitoring social inequalities in health.

A spokesperson for the HSE said: “It’s clear that the health and safety of workers in some industries is more at risk than in others. It’s important that organisations take their responsibilities for the safety of their staff seriously.”