Grim official statistics have today shed light on the massive inequality in deaths with coronavirus.
Men working as social carers, factory workers, security guards, cabbies and more have more than double the risk of death as men in the general population.
For women, carers and sales assistants were more likely to die than other women in the population.
And deprivation appears to play a big role. Of men in elementary jobs - the highest-risk group - those in deprived neighbourhoods were more than three times more likely to die with Covid-19.
The data was released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which examined 4,761 deaths involving Covid-19 of working-age people in England and Wales between March 9 and May 25.
Nearly two-thirds of these deaths were among men.
The data found that men working in elementary occupations (such as construction workers, security guards and cleaners) had some of the highest rates of death involving Covid-19, with 39.7 deaths per 100,000 men.
Security guards alone had the highest rate, with 74 deaths per 100,000.
Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive at the Health Foundation, said: "Today’s ONS figures highlight yet again that COVID-19 is not a great leveller.
"People in low-paid occupations, those living in more deprived areas and people from black and minority ethnic communities [are] at significantly higher risk of dying from the virus than the general population."
John Phillips, Acting General Secretary of the GMB union, said: "These gruesome figures show why key workers urgently need much better protection in the workplace.
“The fact that low paid workers are particularly at risk highlights the gaping inequality in our society.
"Nobody wants to get Britain back working more than GMB, but it has to be done safely. The Government's current guidance is simply not fit to halt this horrifying death toll.”
Here is what the figures say.
Deaths of health, and especially care, workers are higher than average
Coronavirus death rates social care workers were "statistically significantly" higher than others of the same age and sex.
268 deaths involving COVID-19 among social care workers were registered between 9 March and 25 May 2020.
That means a rate of 50.1 deaths per 100,000 men (97 deaths) and 19.1 deaths per 100,000 women (171 deaths).
That compares to 19.1 deaths per 100,000 men and 9.7 deaths per 100,000 women from Covid in the general working-age population.
So what about among health care workers – including doctors, nurses and midwives, nurse assistants, paramedics, ambulance staff, and hospital porters?
The ONS found these men had a statistically significant higher rate of death at 30.4 deaths per 100,000 men.
Among women, though, the rate was 11.0 deaths per 100,000 women - which the ONS said was not statistically significantly higher than the general population of women.
Beyond the NHS and care, a massive range of jobs are more likely to have men dying of coronavirus
Six of the nine 'major occupational groups' had a 'statistically significant' higher death rate than other men in the working-age population, according to the figures for England and Wales.
They are:
- 'Elementary workers' including builders, security guards and cleaners: 39.7 deaths per 100,000 men - more detail below.
- Caring, leisure and other service including care workers, nursing assistants and ambulance drivers: 39.6 deaths per 100,000 men
Process, plant and machine operatives: 30.1 deaths per 100,000 men
Administrative and secretarial: 26.0 deaths per 100,000 men
Sales and customer service: 24.7 deaths per 100,000 men
Skilled trades occupations: 23.9 deaths per 100,000 men
Factory workers and security guards appear groups of men most likely to die
Elementary workers were the worst hit - and when you drill down within that group, security guards and factory workers were the worst hit of all.
Elementary process plant occupations, including factory machinery cleaners and goods packers: 73.3 deaths per 100,000 men
Security guards and related occupations: 74.0 deaths per 100,000 men
Elementary construction workers: 42.1 deaths per 100,000 men
Elementary service occupations including hospital porters, bar staff and leisure and theme park attendants: 38.3 deaths per 100,000 men.
Male care workers and taxi drivers are also much more likely to die
Other jobs that a statistically significant higher death rate for men, compared to the general male population, were:
Caring personal service occupations overall: 50.1 deaths per 100,000 men
Care workers and home carers: 71.1 deaths per 100,000 men
Nursing auxiliaries and assistants: 58.9 deaths per 100,000 men
Road transport drivers overall: 35.2 deaths per 100,000 men
Taxi and cab drivers and chauffeurs: 65.3 deaths per 100,000 men
Bus and coach drivers: 44.2 deaths per 100,000 men
Van drivers: 26.7 deaths per 100,000 men
Chefs: 56.8 deaths per 100,000 men
Sales and retail assistants: 34.2 deaths per 100,000 men
Food, drink and tobacco process operatives: 64.3 deaths per 100,000 men
Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians: 44.3 deaths per 100,000 men
- Book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks: 34.5 deaths per 100,000 men
The ONS highlighted fewer risk occupations when it came to women
Among women, only one of the nine major occupational groups had a statistically significantly higher mortality rate for deaths involving the coronavirus.
That was the caring, leisure and other service occupations, which had a rate of 15.4 deaths per 100,000 women.
This includes:
- Caring personal occupations: 15.2 deaths per 100,000 women
- Sales and retail assistants: 15.7 deaths per 100,000 women
- National government administrative occupations: 23.4 deaths per 100,000 women
Process, plant and machine operatives also had an elevated rate, but because of the small number of deaths (26), it was not statistically significant.
