Number & Rate of Workplace Fatalities Down, Due to Slowed Economy

WASHINGTON – Counts and rates of fatal work injuries were down in 2009, to a preliminary total of 4,340 fatal work injuries and a rate of 3.3 per 100,000 full time positions. 

The total recorded is down from a final count of 5,214 fatal work injuries in 2008.  The 2009 total represents the smallest annual preliminary total since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program was first conducted in 1992. 

Based on this preliminary count, the rate of fatal work injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers is down from a final rate of 3.7 in 2008.  Counts and rates are likely to increase with the release of final 2009 CFOI results in April 2011.  Over the last 2 years, increases in the published counts based on information received after the publication of preliminary results have averaged 156 fatalities per year or about 3 percent of the revised totals.       

Economic factors played a major role in the fatal work injury decrease in 2009.  Total hours worked fell by 6 percent in 2009 following a 1 percent decline in 2008, and some industries that have historically accounted for a significant share of fatal work injuries, such as construction, experienced even larger declines in employment or hours worked.  

“A single worker hurt or killed on the job is one too many,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "While a decrease in the number of fatal work injuries is encouraging, we cannot - and will not - relent from our continued strong enforcement of workplace safety laws.

"As the economy regains strength and more people re-enter the workforce, the Department of Labor will remain vigilant to ensure America's workers are kept safe while they earn a paycheck. After all, as I've said before, no job is a good job unless it is also safe." 

In addition, some source documents used by CFOI State partners to identify and verify fatal work injuries were delayed, due at least in part to fiscal constraints at some of the governmental agencies who regularly provide source documentation for the program.  

Key preliminary findings of the 2009 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries:

-     Workplace homicides declined 1 percent in 2009, in contrast to an overall decline of 17 percent for all fatal work injuries.  The homicide total for 2009 includes the 13 victims of the November shooting at Fort Hood.  Workplace suicides were down 10 percent in 2009 from the series high of 263 in 2008.

-     Though wage and salary workers and self-employed workers experienced similar declines in total hours worked in 2009, fatal work injuries among wage and salary workers in 2009 declined by 20 percent while fatal injuries among self-employed workers were down 3 percent.

-     The wholesale trade industry was one of the few major private industry sectors reporting higher numbers of fatal work injuries in 2009.

-     Fatal work injuries in the private construction sector declined by 16 percent in 2009 following the decline of 19 percent in 2008.

-     Fatalities among non-Hispanic black or African-American workers were down 24 percent.  This worker group also experienced a slightly larger decline in total hours worked than non-Hispanic white or Hispanic workers.    

-     The number of fatal workplace injuries in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations rose 6 percent, one of the few major occupation groups to record an increase in fatal work injuries in 2009.

-      Transportation incidents, which accounted for nearly two-fifths of all the fatal work injuries in 2009, fell 21 percent from the 2,130 fatal work injuries reported in 2008. 

Profile of 2009 fatal work injuries by type of incident: 

Most types of transportation fatalities decreased in 2009 relative to 2008, including highway incidents (down 27 percent); workers struck by vehicle or mobile equipment (down 19 percent); aircraft incidents (down 18 percent); and nonhighway incidents such as tractor overturns (down 8 percent). 

Fatal occupational injuries due to water vehicle incidents were higher (82 fatalities in 2009, up from 76 in 2008). These and other transportation counts presented in this release will likely rise when updated 2009 data are released in April 2011. 

Key source documentation detailing specific incidents related to transportation has not yet been received and could identify 100 or more cases if recent trends hold true.

Workplace homicides fell by 1 percent in 2009, in contrast to the 17 percent decrease in fatal work injuries overall.  The preliminary workplace homicide count for 2009 (521 cases) represents a decline of about half from the high of 1,080 homicides reported in 1994.  Workplace suicides declined 10 percent from a series high of 263 cases in 2008 to 237 cases in 2009.  However, this 2009 preliminary count of workplace suicides is the second highest annual total reported by the fatality census. 

Fatal falls declined 12 percent in 2009 (from 700 in 2008 to 617 in 2009).  Overall, fatal falls are down 27 percent from the series high of 847 fatal falls reported in 2007.  About half of all fatal falls occur in construction, so the decline in overall construction activity and employment since 2007 may account for the lower number of fatal falls over the past two years. 

Fatalities involving contact with objects or equipment were down 22 percent in 2009 after increasing in 2008, and fatal work injuries involving exposure to harmful substances or environments (such as electrocutions) were down 11 percent.