Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cashiers

More cashiers than cops are murdered on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—54 cashiers and 51 police officers were killed in the line of duty in 2016. Of course, the homicide rate is much higher for cops because there are fewer cops than cashiers (708,000 police and sheriff's patrol officers versus 3.3 million cashiers). But the BLS workplace homicide statistics should send a shiver down the spine of any parent whose child is thinking of working a cash register. 

Overall, there were exactly 500 workplace homicides in 2016, up from 417 in 2015. The BLS has compiled a detailed table of gruesome statistics, revealing…

—409 men and 91 women were murdered on the job in 2016

—394 of the homicides were shootings (79 percent)

—152 workplace homicide victims were murdered by a robber

—78 were murdered by a domestic partner or relative (40 percent of the women killed)

—66 were murdered by a co-worker

Although firearms accounted for the great majority of workplace homicides, a wide variety of other instruments were responsible for some of the deaths including 3 murders by rebar, 7 by passenger vehicle, 1 by mallet, and 1 by tarp. 

Among workers at convenience stores and fast-food restaurants, 88 were murdered at work in 2016. Among those working for local law enforcement—including police officers as well as clerical and other staff—57 were killed on the job.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, There were 500 Workplace Homicides in the United States in 2016