Number of fatal work injuries, 1992–2006
6,800
6,632
6,331
6,400
6,217
6,275
6,202 6,238
6,055
6,054
6,000
5,920
5,915
5,764
5,534
5,600
5,840
5,734
5,575
5,200
4,800
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
The 2006 total of 5,840 work-related fatalities represented a two percent increase from the total of 5,734
fatal work injuries reported for 2005.
NOTE: Data from 2001 exclude fatalities resulting from the September 11 terrorist attacks.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
1
Rate of fatal work injuries per 100,000 workers, 1992–2006
6.0
5.2
5.0
5.2
5.3
4.9
4.8
4.8
4.5
4.5
4.3
4.0
4.3
4.0
4.0
4.1
4.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
The rate of fatal work injuries in 2006 was 4.0 fatalities per 100,000 workers, which was consistent with the
rate of 4 of the last 5 years.
Rate = (Fatal work injuries/Employment) x 100,000. Employment data, except for military, based on the Current Population Survey (CPS). Prior to 1999,
resident military figure derived from Bureau of the Census data. From 1999 to the present, figure based on Department of Defense (DOD) figures.
NOTE: Data from 2001 exclude fatalities resulting from the September 11 terrorist attacks. Rates for 1992-2006 calculated using revised fatality data.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Current Population Survey, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, U.S. Bureau of the
Census, and U.S. Department of Defense, 2008
2
Number of fatal work injuries, by State, 2006
ND
31
MT
45
WA
87
OR
87
MN
78
WI
91
SD
37
ID
38
WY
36
UT
60
CO
137
KS
85
CA
537
AZ
112
IL
207
OK
91
NM
59
TX
489
AK
45
IN
148
MO
167
LA
118
PA
240
OH
193
KY
147
WV
79
TN
153
AR
78
MS
96
AL
100
NH
13
ME
20
NY
234
MI
157
IA
71
NE
57
NV
49
VT
14
VA
165
NC
168
GA
201
SC
95
MA
66
RI
NJ CT 10
DE 88 38
15
DC
7
MD
106
Decreased in 2006
Increased in 2006
FL
360
HI
30
Twenty-one States and the District of Columbia had fewer fatal workplace injuries in 2006 compared to
2005. The remaining 29 States had a higher number of fatal injuries in 2006 than in 2005.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
3
Manner in which workplace fatalities occurred, 2006
Fires and explosions (3%)
Exposure to harmful substances
and environments (9%)
Assaults and
violent acts (13%)
Highway (23%)
Transportation
incidents (42%)
Homicide
(9%)
Fall to lower
level (13%)
Falls
(14%)
Struck
by object
( 10%)
(Total fatalities = 5,840)
Contact with objects and equipment (17%)
More work-related fatalities resulted from transportation incidents than from any other event.
Highway incidents alone accounted for nearly one out of every four fatal work injuries in 2006.
NOTE: Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
4
Difference in workplace fatality counts, by event, 2005–06
2005 Level
106
ALL EVENTS
189
Transportation incidents
2005 Total = 5,734
-34
2006 Total = 5,840
Contact with objects and equipment
-12
Assaults and violent acts
-4
Fires and explosions
43
Exposure to harmful substances and
environments
46
57
Falls
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 100 110 120
Change in fatal events from 2005 level
Fatal work injuries resulting from transportation incidents, contact with objects and equipment, and assaults and violent
acts all decreased in 2006. Fatal work injuries resulting from fires and explosions, exposure to harmful substances and
environments, and falls increased in 2006 from 2005 levels.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
5
Four most frequent work-related fatal events, 1992–2006
Number of fatalities
1,600
1,442
1,343 1,346
1,400
1,346
1,398
1,409
1,393
1,437
1,496
1,242
1,365
1,158
1,373
1,353
1,356
1,200
1,074
1,000
1,080
1,036
927
1,044
860
734
800
600
618
665
651
691
716
557
714
565
590
547
719
721
643
582 579
400
520
770
827
696
706 651
600
822
810
677
609
602
607 589
559
567
632
585
571
553
505
531
540
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Highway incidents
Homicides
Falls
Struck by object
Workplace homicides have declined 50 percent since 1994, while fatal falls have trended higher.
Struck by object fatalities overtook homicides as the third most frequent fatal event in 2004.
NOTE: Data from 2001 exclude fatalities resulting from the September 11 terrorist attacks.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
6
Falls, by type of fall, 2006
O ther or unknown
20%
From roof
22%
Total falls = 827
Down stairs or steps
3%
From building girders
or structural steel
4%
From ladder
16%
From floor, dock, or
ground level
6%
O n same level
8%
From nonmoving
vehicle
9%
From scaffold, staging
11%
Of the 827 fatal falls in 2006, nearly two in five involved falls from roofs or ladders.
NOTE: Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
7
Employment and fatalities, by gender of worker, 2006
Women
Women
8%
46%
54%
92%
Men
Employment =145,501,000
Men
Fatalities = 5,840
Men continued to record a disproportionate share of fatalities relative to their employment in 2006.
SOURCE: US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, and US Department of Defense, 2008
8
Fatal injury events, by gender of worker, 2006
23
Highway incidents
30
8
Homicides
27
15
Falls
9
Men = 5,396
Women = 444
10
Exposure to harmful
substances and environments
8
18
Contact with
objects and equipment
5
4
Fires and explosions
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Percent of fatalities within gender
A higher percentage of fatal work injuries to women resulted from highway incidents and homicides than for
men. A higher percentage of fatal work injuries to men resulted from falls and from contact with objects and
equipment.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
9
Number of fatal work injuries involving Hispanic or Latino workers,
1992-2006
Number of fatalities
990
1,000
895
900
707
700
634
600
619
323
323
306
285
263
275
321
262
533
500
400
624
638
794
730
658
923
841
815
800
902
314
288
277
267
279
302
258
300
336
342
371
379
405
320
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
200
275
468
494
1999
2000
572
578
2001
2002
596
638
667
2005
2006
519
100
0
1992
Foreign-born
2003
2004
Native-born
Fatal work injuries involving Hispanic or Latino workers increased to a series high in 2006. More than two-thirds of fatallyinjured Hispanic or Latino workers in 2006 were born outside of the United States.
NOTE: Data from 2001 exclude fatalities resulting from the September 11 terrorist attacks.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
10
Fatal occupational injuries to foreign-born workers, by country of origin, 2006
Total workers = 1,046
Other (39%)
Mexico (45%)
Guatemala (5%)
Canada (2%)
Cuba (2%) India (3%)
El Salvador (4%)
The countries of origin of workers killed on the job in 2006 encompassed approximately 100 foreign countries. More than
two in five foreign-born workers who were fatally injured in 2006 were born in Mexico. Of the countries included in the
“Other” category, each had less than two percent of total fatalities to foreign-born workers.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
11
Fatal work injury rates, by age group, 2006
15.0
11.2
10.0
5.0
5.0
3.7
All worker fatality rate (4.0)
2.8
2.7
18 to 19
years
20 to 24
years
4.2
3.3
0.9
0.0
16 to 17
years
25 to 34
years
35 to 44
years
45 to 54
years
55 to 64
years
65 years
and over
Fatal work injury rates for workers 45 years of age and over were higher than the overall U.S. rate, but
workers 44 years of age and under had lower rates.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
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Number and rate of fatal occupational injuries, by industry sector, 2006
Construction
10.9
1,239
860
Transportation and warehousing
Agriculture, forestry,
fishing, and hunting
16.8
655
Government
30.0
2.4
520
3.2
459
Professional and business services
456
Manufacturing
2.8
359
Retail trade
265
Leisure and hospitality
Other services (exc. public admin.)
2.3
222
Wholesale trade
Mining
2.2
Total fatalities = 5,840
4.9
28.1
192
All worker fatality rate = 4.0
2.6
183
Educational and health services
0.9
178
66
Information
2.0
53
Utilities
1,500
1.2
126
Financial activities
1,250
1,000
750
500
Number of fatalities
250
6.3
0
10
20
30
40
Fatality rate (per 100,000 employed)
Although the construction sector had the highest number of fatal injuries in 2006, the industry sectors with the
highest fatality rates were agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting and mining.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
13
Fatal occupational injuries in the private mining industry, 2003–06
Number of fatalities
192
200
152
150
159
67
141
54
61
98
98
125
2004
2005
2006
56
100
50
85
0
2003
Oil and gas extraction industries
All other mining
Even though fatal work injuries in coal mining more than doubled in 2006 (from 22 in 2005 to 47 in 2006), oil
and gas fatalities accounted for nearly two-thirds of the fatal work injuries in mining in 2006.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
NOTE: Oil and gas extraction industries includes NAICS 211 (oil and gas extraction), NAICS 213111 (drilling oil and gas wells),
and NAICS 213112 (support activities for oil and gas operations).
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Number and rate of fatal occupational injuries, by major occupation group, 2006
Transportation and material moving
17.0
1,501
Construction and extraction 1,273
13.4
Service
3.1
732
589
Management, business, and financial
2.8
7.9
423
Installation, maintenance, and repair
Sales and related
316
Farming, fishing, and forestry
297
Production
285
Professional and related
268
1.9
30.0
3.0
0.9
Total fatalities = 5,840
88
Office and administrative support
All worker fatality rate = 4.0
57
Military
1,500
0.5
1,250 1,000
750
500
Number of fatalities
250
5.3
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Fatality rate (per 100,000 employed)
Although transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of fatal work injuries in
2006, the highest fatality rate among major occupational groups was in farming, fishing, and forestry.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
15
Selected occupations with high fatality rates, 2006
Fishers and related
fishing workers
147.2
53
Aircraft pilots and flight
engineers
90.4
Logging workers
84.6
Total fatalities = 5,840
104
All worker fatality rate = 4.0
Structural iron and steel
workers
Refuse and recyclable material
collectors
66
36
61.0
37
40.7
Farmers and ranchers
37.2
Electrical power-line installers
and repairers
34.9
Roofers
33.5
Driver/sales workers and
truck drivers
292
38
81
27.5
Miscellaneous agricultural
workers
957
162
22.2
150
100
50
0
Fatality rate (per 100,000 employed)
200
400
600
800
1,000
Number of fatalities
Fatal work injury rates were highest for fishers, aircraft pilots and flight engineers, and logging workers in 2006.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
16
Distribution of fatalities by selected occupations
in the private construction industry, 2005–06
27%
27%
Construction laborers
Carpenters
9%
10%
First-line managers/
supervisors of construction
trades workers
7%
8%
6%
Roofers
4%
Total fatalities in 2006 = 1,239
Total fatalities in 2005 = 1,192
6%
5%
Electricians
5%
5%
Construction managers
Painters and paperhangers
2006
4%
3%
Truck drivers, heavy
and tractor-trailer
2005
4%
4%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Percent of private construction fatalities
25%
30%
Fatal work injuries involving construction laborers accounted for more than one out of every four private
construction fatalities in both 2005 and 2006.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008
17