Fatal work injuries totaled 68 in 2010 for New York City, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Michael L. Dolfman, the Bureau's regional commissioner, noted that while the 2010 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in New York City had increased by 5 from a series low of 63 in 2009. In the 19-year history of the fatality census, 2009 and 2010 were the only years with less than 80 fatal occupational injuries in the City. (See table 1 and chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,547 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2010, about the same as the final count of 4,551 fatal work injuries recorded in 2009. Final 2010 CFOI data will be released in Spring 2012.

Homicides were the most frequent type of workplace fatality in New York City in 2010, accounting for 15 deaths. (See table 2.) Since 2005, the number of workplace homicides has ranged from 15 to 19. However, work-related homicides have fallen considerably since the early years of the survey when fatalities ranged from a high of 140 to 75 during the 1992 to 1996 period.

Fatalities due to self-inflicted injuries went from 12 to 14 over the year. The number of fatal falls to a lower level rose from a series low of 5 in 2009 to 13 the following year.

In the United States, highway incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event, accounting for 21 percent of fatal work injuries. New York City's share of on-the-job fatalities due to this event, however, was far below the national percentage, at 4 percent. Nationwide, homicides and falls to a lower level were the next most frequent type of event, each with 11 percent of the work-related fatalities. In New York City, homicides and falls to a lower level accounted for 22 and 19 percent, respectively, of on-the-job deaths.

Additional key characteristics:

• Fifteen fatal work injuries occurred to the self-employed, up from 11 in 2009. (See table 3.)
• The trade, transportation, and utilities sector had the largest number of fatalities, 21, up from 19 in 2009. Assaults and violent acts accounted for 13 of the worker deaths in this industry sector.
• Almost half (6) of the 13 fatal falls to a lower level happened in the construction industry.
• Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 16. Five of these were assaults and violent acts involving motor vehicle operators.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 46, or 68 percent, of the City’s work-related fatalities in 2010. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 60 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• One out of every four, or 25 percent, workplace deaths occurred to Hispanic or Latino workers. Nationwide, this group accounted for 15 percent of work-related deaths.

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are available on the BLS Internet site at www.bls.gov/iif/. Further information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program, as well as other Bureau programs, is available on the New York-New Jersey Information Office web site at www.bls.gov/ro2/ or by contacting us at 646-264-3600 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.

For technical information about the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site here: www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch9_a1.htm. The technical information and definitions for the CFOI Program are in Chapter 9, Part III of the BLS Handbook of Methods.

Federal/State agency coverage. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or State agencies or was outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used by each agency.

Several federal and state agencies have jurisdiction over workplace safety and health. OSHA and affiliated agencies in states with approved safety programs cover the largest portion of the nation's workers. However, injuries and illnesses occurring in certain industries or activities, such as coal, metal, and nonmetal mining and highway, water, rail, and air transportation, are excluded from OSHA coverage because they are covered by other federal agencies, such as the Mine Safety and Health Administration and various agencies within the Department of Transportation.

Acknowledgments. The Bureau of Labor Statistics appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that submitted source documents used to identify fatal work injuries. Among these agencies are the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety and Health Administration; the Employment Standards Administration (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the Department of Energy; state vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; state departments of health, labor and industries, and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries in New York City by selected event groups, 1992-2010

Year	Total fatalities	Homicides		Self-inflicted injuries		Falls to a lower level
		Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
1992	187	119	64	5	3	13	7
1993	191	140	73	9	5	13	7
1994	184	110	60	11	6	16	9
1995	144	83	58	8	6	16	11
1996	148	75	51	7	5	22	15
1997	109	46	42	5	5	26	24
1998	94	35	37	4	4	15	16
1999	120	41	34	12	10	23	19
2000	111	47	42	11	10	18	16
2001	100	19	19	7	7	13	13
2002	100	27	27	9	9	20	20
2003	94	32	34	11	12	12	13
2004	107	29	27	15	14	19	18
2005	88	19	22	10	11	17	19
2006	99	15	15	6	6	31	31
2007	81	15	19	12	15	21	26
2008	90	18	20	8	9	25	28
2009	63	16	25	12	19	5	8
2010	68	15	22	14	21	13	19
NOTE: Data for 2010 are preliminary. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, New York City, 2009-2010

Event or exposure(1)	2009	2010
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	63	68	100
Transportation incidents	11	7	10
Highway	6	3	4
Collision between vehicles, mobile equipment	5	--	--
Worker struck by a vehicle	4	3	4
Assaults and violent acts	28	29	43
Homicides	16	15	22
Shooting	12	13	19
Self-inflicted injuries	12	14	21
Contact with objects and equipment	9	5	7
Struck by object or equipment	5	--	--
Struck by falling object or equipment	4	--	--
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	3	--	--
Falls	8	16	24
Fall to lower level	5	13	19
Fall on same level	3	3	4
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	--	8	12
Exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances	--	5	7
Fires and explosions	--	3	4
Footnotes: (1) Based on the 2007 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification Manual. Includes other events and exposures, such as bodily reaction, in addtion to those shown separately.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. Data for 2010 are preliminary. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, New York City, 2009-2010

Worker characteristics	2009	2010
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	63	68	100
Employee Status
Wage and salary workers(1)	52	53	78
Self-employed(2)	11	15	22
Gender
Men	57	67	99
Women	6	--	--
Age(3)
20 to 24 years	3	--	--
25 to 34 years	12	12	18
35 to 44 years	13	15	22
45 to 54 years	20	19	28
55 to 64 years	10	17	25
65 years and over	4	3	4
Race or Ethnic Origin(4)
White, non-Hispanic	29	27	40
Black, non-Hispanic	9	14	21
Hispanic or Latino	20	17	25
Asian	5	10	15
Footnotes: (1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (2) Includes self-employed workers, owners of unincorporated businesses and farms, paid and unpaid family workers, and may include some owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships. (3) Because there may have been no incidents reported for some ages or because the data do not meet publication criteria, information is not available for all age groups. In addition, some fatalities may have had insufficient information with which to determine the age of the decedents. (4) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exlcude Hispanic and Latino workers.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. Data for 2010 are preliminary. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Last Modified Date: October 31, 2011