Dear Subscriber,
As manufacturing becomes more automated and the U.S. economy in general becomes more geared to services, we're increasingly a nation of mobile and independent workers. Home health aides, for instance, are predicted to grow by 48 percent by 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Work that's done without regular supervision or contact with coworkers obviously carries extra risks. Consider self-employed workers: they make up just 7.4 percent of the U.S. civilian workforce, yet experience almost 20 percent of workplace fatalities, according to the BLS.