Did You Know?
- Approximately 1.6 million U.S. teens (aged 15–17) work.
- Every nine minutes, a U.S. teen is injured on the job.
Those are staggering statistics. Even more surprising, on average, each year:
- 59,800 workers under the age of 18 are sent to the ER for job-related injuries
- 37 workers under the age of 18 die on the job.
- Young workers are twice as likely to be injured compared to adult workers.
How do we reduce the level of injury to our children as they enter the workforce? Fortunately, we have an answer: AIHA's Safety Matters Training Program. We want to encourage our members and other health and safety professionals to spend time talking with this critical audience about the importance of workplace safety.
Additional Resources for Teen Safety in the Workplace
The following programs and resources are not part of NIOSH's Safety Matters initiative. However, the information may prove valuable for parents, employers, and teen workers looking for supplemental references regarding teen safety in the workplace.
HEALTH AND SAFETY AWARENESS WEBSITES FOR WORKING TEENS
- The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
- The University of Washington's, The Health and Safety Awareness for Working Teens (HSAWT) program
- YouthRules website, sponsored by the United States Department of Labor
- The California Resource Network for Young Workers’ Health and Safety has put together a collection of educational resources and curricula from various sources
- The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH)
- The Work Safe Work Smart Curriculum by the Minnesota Department of Health