National Safety Month 2016 Focuses on Young Workers
The retail industry is a leading employer of young workers, who on average are injured more frequently than older colleagues.
June is National Safety Month, and NIOSH this year has highlighted the potential dangers associated with young workers, particularly in retail jobs.
According to a post featured on the NIOSH Science blog, there were 18.1 million workers in the United States in 2014 who were younger than 24, representing 13 percent of the workforce. That same year, one of every four young retail workers were injured in a retail job. These work settings often have hazards, including slippery floors and the use of knives and energized equipment. A lack of training and experience contributes to this high injury rate, according to the agency.
So NIOSH has developed a webpage to assist young retail workers. It includes safety tips and materials to educate workers on potential injuries.