• Fatality rate per 100,000 workers: 102.4
• Median wage: $37,360

Falling tree limbs and dangerous equipment, like chainsaws, have long made logging one of the most hazardous trades.

"You look up and see a hanging branch, no big deal. But it can fall and kill you," said Eric Johnson, a former logger and now editor of "The Northern Logger."

Last year, there were 64 deaths, according to the Labor Department.

The most common fatalities occur when loggers work steep, slippery slopes. Huge trunks can roll swiftly downhill, crushing workers in their wake.

New equipment has made things safer, said Johnson. Chainsaw cuts caused many deaths in the past, for example, but now most cutting is done from inside the cab of a logging rig with a mechanical, arm that reaches out to saw the tree trunks.

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