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©iStockphoto.com/Damir Cudic
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2013 appears to have seen fewer fatal work injuries than 2012, according to a recent release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to research conducted for the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), the rate of fatal work injury for U.S. workers in 2013 was 3.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, compared to a final rate of 3.4 per 100,000 FTEs in 2012. Specifically, 4,405 fatal work injuries were recorded in the U.S. in 2013, a decrease of 223 from 4,628 in 2012.
BLS will release finalized 2013 data late in spring 2015. In the past 5 years, average increases to the preliminary count have been 165 cases, so the count may be closer than it looks at present.
BLS notes several data trends:
- “Fatal work injuries in private industry in 2013 were 6% below the 2012 figure. The preliminary 2013 count of 3,929 fatal injuries in private industry represents the lowest annual total since the fatality census was first conducted in 1992.”
- “Fatal work injuries among Hispanic or Latino workers were higher in 2013, rising 7%. The 797 Hispanic or Latino worker deaths in 2013 constituted the highest total since 2008. Fatal work injuries were lower among all other major racial/ethnic groups.”
- “Fatal work injuries involving workers under 16 years of age were substantially lower, falling from 19 in 2012 to 5 in 2013—the lowest total ever reported by the census. Fatal work injuries in most other age groups were also lower in 2013, though fatal work injuries among workers 25 to 34 years of age were higher.”
- “Work-related suicides were 8 percent higher than in 2012, but workplace homicides were 16% lower. Overall, violence accounted for 1 of every 6 fatal work injuries in 2013.”
- “The number of fatal work injuries among firefighters was considerably higher in 2013, rising from 18 in 2012 to 53 in 2013. The large increase resulted from a few major incidents in which multiple fatalities were recorded, including the Yarnell Hill wildfires in Arizona that claimed the lives of 19 firefighters.”
- “Fatal work injuries among self-employed workers were lower by 16% from 1,057 in 2012 to 892 in 2013. The preliminary 2013 total represents the lowest annual total since the series began in 1992.”
Additional data and analysis is available at the BLS website.
