For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, September 20, 2012 USDL-12-1888
Technical information: (202) 691-6170 - iifstaff@bls.gov - www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 - PressOffice@bls.gov
NATIONAL CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES IN 2011
(PRELIMINARY RESULTS)
A preliminary total of 4,609 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2011, down from a
final count of 4,690 fatal work injuries in 2010, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries (CFOI) program conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate of fatal work injury for
U.S. workers in 2011 was 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, as compared to a final rate
of 3.6 per 100,000 for 2010.
Over the last 3 years, increases in the published counts based on additional information have averaged
166 fatalities per year or about 3 percent of the revised total. Final 2011 data from the CFOI program
will be released in Spring 2013.
Key preliminary findings of the 2011 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries:
- Fatal work injuries in the private construction sector declined to 721 in 2011 from 774 in 2010, a
decline of 7 percent and the fifth consecutive year of lower fatality counts. Fatal construction injuries
are down nearly 42 percent since 2006.
- Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 780 fatalities, or about 17 percent of
the fatal injuries in the workplace in 2011. Included in this count are 458 homicides and 242 suicides.
(See note in box below about recent changes to the classification system for case characteristics.)
- Work-related fatalities in the private mining industry (which includes oil and gas extraction) were
down 10 percent in 2011 after an increase of 74 percent in 2010. Coal mining fatalities fell to 17 in 2011
from 43 in 2010.
- Fatal work injuries in private truck transportation rose 14 percent in 2011-the second
consecutive year that counts have risen in this sector after reaching a series low in 2009.
- Fatal work injuries increased among non-Hispanic black or African-American workers and among Hispanic
or Latino workers in 2011, but declined among non-Hispanic white workers (down 3 percent).
- Fatal work injuries involving workers 55 years of age and older as well as workers under the age
of 18 were both lower in 2011, but fatal work injuries among workers in the 20 to 24 age group were
up nearly 18 percent.
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| Changes to the OIICS Structure |
| Information in this release incorporates a major revision in the Occupational Injury and Illness |
| Classification System (OIICS), which is used to describe the characteristics of fatal work injuries. Because |
| of the extensive revisions, data for the OIICS case characteristics for reference year 2011 represent a break |
| in series with data for prior years. More information on OIICS can be found at www.bls.gov/iif/oshoiics.htm. |
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Profile of fatal work injuries in 2011 by worker characteristics
The number of fatal work injuries involving non-Hispanic white workers declined 3 percent in 2011, but were higher
for black or African-American workers. For black workers, this increase follows three years of declining numbers of
fatal injuries.
Fatal work injuries among Hispanic or Latino workers rose to 729 in 2011 from 707 in 2010, an increase of 3 percent.
The higher count in 2011 was the first increase in fatal injuries for Hispanic or Latino workers since 2006. Of the
729 fatal work injuries involving Hispanic or Latino workers, 500 (or 69 percent) involved foreign-born workers.
Overall, there were 823 fatal work injuries involving foreign-born workers in 2011, of which the greatest share
(338 or 41 percent) were born in Mexico.
Fatal work injuries were higher for workers 20 to 24 years of age, rising to 288 in 2011 from 245 in 2010, an
increase of 18 percent. For workers 55 years of age or older and workers under the age of 18, fatal work injuries
were down. Fatal work injuries involving women increased slightly in 2011 to 375, but declined by 2 percent for
men to 4,234 in 2011 from 4,322 in 2010.
Fatal injuries to both wage and salary workers and self-employed workers declined slightly in 2011.
For more detailed information on fatal injuries by demographic characteristics, see the 2011 tables
at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm.
Profile of 2011 fatal work injuries by type of incident
Transportation incidents accounted for more than 2 out of every 5 fatal work injuries in 2011. (See chart 1.)
Of the 1,898 transportation-related incidents, about 57 percent (1,075 cases) were roadway incidents involving
motorized land vehicles. Nonroadway incidents, such as a tractor overturn in a farm field, accounted for
another 11 percent of the transportation-related fatal injuries. About 16 percent of fatal transportation
incidents in 2011 involved pedestrians who were struck by vehicles. Of the 312 fatal work injuries involving
pedestrians struck by vehicles, 61 occurred in work zones. Workers who were fatally injured in aircraft
incidents in 2011 accounted for 146 fatalities or about 8 percent of the transportation total.
Overall, 780 workers were killed as a result of violence and other injuries by persons or animals, including
458 homicides and 242 suicides. Shootings were the most frequent manner of death in both homicides (78 percent)
and suicides (45 percent). Another 37 deaths were due to animal- or insect-related incidents. Of the 375 fatal
work injuries involving female workers overall, 21 percent involved homicides. In nearly 2 out of every
5 homicides to female workers, the assailants were relatives, with almost all of the relatives being
spouses or domestic partners (current and former). Robbers were the assailants in another 22 percent of these
fatalities. For male workers, homicides accounted for approximately 9 percent of all fatal injuries.
In contrast to female workers, relatives accounted for only about 2 percent of assailants. Robbers were the
assailants in over one third of the homicide cases involving male workers.
Fatal falls, slips, or trips took the lives of 666 workers in 2011, or about 14 percent of all fatal work
injuries. Falls to lower level accounted for 541 of those fatalities. The revised Occupational Injury and
Illness Classification System (OIICS) added the capability of recording the height of the fall. In 2011, the
height of the fall was reported in 451 of the 541 fatal falls from higher level. Of those 451 cases, about
one in four (115) occurred after a fall of 10 feet or less. Another fourth (118) occurred from a fall of
over 30 feet.
A total of 472 workers were fatally injured after being struck by objects or equipment, including 219 workers
who were struck by falling objects or equipment and 192 who were struck by powered vehicles or mobile equipment
not in normal operation.
There were 152 multiple-fatality incidents in 2011 (incidents in which more than one worker was killed) in
which 354 workers died.
For more detailed information on fatal injuries by incident, see the 2011 tables at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm.
Profile of fatal work injuries in 2011 by industry sector
The number of fatal work injuries in the private construction sector declined by 7 percent in 2011. Fatal work
injuries in construction have declined every year since 2006 and are down nearly 42 percent over that time.
Economic conditions may explain much of this decline. Despite the lower fatal injury total, construction
accounted for the second most fatal work injuries of any industry sector in 2011 with transportation and
warehousing having the most fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.)
Private sector mining fatalities were down 10 percent to 154 in 2011 from 172 in 2010 after rising 74 percent
in 2010. Fatal work injuries were down sharply in coal mining to 17 in 2011 from 43 in 2010; the Upper Big
Branch mining disaster in 2010 which killed 29 workers was a major factor in the high fatality counts
in 2010. Fatal work injuries in support activities for mining were up 6 percent.
Fatalities in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting were down by 10 percent to 557 in 2011 from 621 in 2010,
led by a sharp drop in crop production fatalities. Manufacturing fatalities were also slightly lower.
Among service-providing industries in the private sector, fatal work injuries in transportation and warehousing
accounted for 733 fatal work injuries in 2011, an increase of 11 percent over the final 2010 count (661 fatalities)
and the highest count since 2008. The number of fatal injuries in truck transportation, the largest
subsector within transportation and warehousing in terms of employment, increased by 14 percent in 2011, led
by a 16 percent increase in general freight trucking and a 12 percent increase in specialized freight trucking.
Among other transportation subsectors, fatal work injuries in air transportation were lower, but fatalities in
water and rail transportation were higher in 2011.
Fatal work injuries in the professional and business services sector were up 16 percent, led by an increase in
fatalities in landscape services to 167 in 2011 from 133 in 2010.
Fatal occupational injuries among government workers increased by 2 percent from 2010 to 495. Local government
increased to 294 in 2011 from 269 in 2010 due to a 24 percent increase in police protection. Fatal work
injuries were lower among both state and federal workers.
In 2011, CFOI began collecting additional information on fatally-injured workers who were working as contractors
at the time of their deaths. Preliminary 2011 data show that 492 of the 4,609 fatally-injured workers were
classified as contractors at the time of their fatal injuries. (For more information on contractor definitions
and other new data elements please see http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm.)
For more detailed information on fatal injuries by industry, see the 2011 tables at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm.
Profile of fatal work injuries in 2011 by occupation
Fatal work injuries in construction and extraction occupations declined slightly in 2011 to 770--the lowest
level since the occupational series began in 2003. Fatal injuries among construction trades workers also recorded
a series low in 2011, falling 7 percent to 511 in 2011 and have declined 48 percent from the high reported
in 2006. Fatal work injuries involving construction laborers, the worker subgroup accounting for the highest
number of fatalities in the construction trades worker group, were down 6 percent in 2011 to 190 fatal work
injuries. The number of fatal work injuries involving extraction workers was about the same as in 2010.
Fatal work injuries in the building and grounds cleaning, and maintenance occupational group were up 14 percent
to 265 fatalities in 2011--the highest level since 2006. The biggest increases within this occupational group
were among landscaping and groundskeeping workers and among tree trimmers and pruners.
Fatal work injuries involving farming, fishing, and forestry workers declined by 5 percent in 2011 after increasing
in 2010. Fatalities involving agricultural workers, including farm workers and laborers, declined to 138 in 2011
from 161 in 2010. Fatalities among logging workers were higher in 2011, to 64 in 2011 from 60 in 2010, but fatal
work injuries among fishers and related fishing workers were about the same as in 2010.
The number of fatal work injuries among protective service occupations increased for the second straight year,
rising to 278 in 2011 from 261 in 2010. The increase in 2011 was led by higher numbers of fatal injuries among
security guards and first-line supervisors of police and detectives.
Fatal work injuries involving workers in transportation and material moving occupations increased by
5 percent in 2011 to 1,213 fatalities, which is the highest level since 2008. Fatal work injuries in this
occupational group accounted for about one quarter of all occupational fatalities. Driver/sales workers and
truck drivers, the subgroup with the highest number of fatal work injuries within the transportation and
material moving group, led the increase. Fatalities in this subgroup rose to 759 in 2011 from 718 in 2010, an
increase of 6 percent.
Fatal work injuries involving resident military personnel increased to 54 in 2011 from 46 in 2010.
For more detailed information on fatal injuries by occupation, see the 2011 tables at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm.
Profile of fatal work injuries by state
Twenty-three states reported higher numbers of fatal work injuries in 2011 than in 2010, while 25 states and
the District of Columbia reported lower numbers. Two states reported the same number as in 2010.
For more detailed state results, contact the individual state agency responsible for the collection
of CFOI data in that state. Although data for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam are not included
in the national totals for this release, results for these jurisdictions are available. Participating agencies
and their telephone numbers are listed in Table 6.
Background of the program
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS)
program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI
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 the 2011 data, over 20,000 unique
source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process.
Another OSHS program, the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), presents frequency counts and
incidence rates by industry and also by detailed case circumstances and worker characteristics for nonfatal
workplace injuries and illnesses for cases that result in days away from work. Incidence rates for 2011 by
industry will be published in October 2012, and information on 2011 case circumstances and worker characteristics
will be available in November 2012. For additional data, access the BLS Internet site: www.bls.gov/iif/. For
technical information and definitions for the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS
web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.
