Usual Occupation Is the Longest-held Occupation Death certificates ask for USUAL occupation. Usual occupation is the job the person held for the longest amount of time. This may not be their most recent or current occupation or the one that paid the highest salary. The usual industry is the type of business associated with the usual occupation. Get the Best Occupation and Industry Information 1. Fill out the occupation and industry information for every decedent ever employed during their lifetime. If you determine they were never employed, please indicate “Never worked.” 2. Do not enter retired or disabled. • If a person was retired, that generally indicates they had an occupation at some point. Record the longest-held occupation and corresponding industry. • People who had a disability often still worked with their disability or had a job before the disability. If having a disability prevented them from ever having a job, please enter “Never Worked.” 3. It is better to ask what the decedent’s occupation was first and then ask their industry. This is because more people are familiar with a person’s job and may be confused about their industry. 4. If you get a vague answer, follow up with a prompt. • For occupation, ask, “What was their job title?” Or, if the response provided is still vague, such as “consultant,” ask, “What type of consultant were they?” • For industry, if given a vague answer such as “business” or “manufacturing,” ask, “What type of business was it?” or “What did their company do or make?” Even “healthcare” is not quite specific enough. Ask “What type of healthcare? A hospital? A doctor’s office? A dentist’s office?” 5. It is important to collect both occupation and industry. Job hazards for the same occupation can vary depending on the industry where a person worked. Please do your best to get both. ■ For more detailed information on collecting the best industry and occupation data, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2012149/default.html. Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health If the occupation and industry information on a death certificate is incomplete or inaccurate, researchers will not be able to correctly identify links between a cause of death and a specific occupation or industry. Pub. 1 Issue 3, 2022 21
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