Fatal Workplace Injuries Increase by 7 Percent

For the third consecutive year workplace fatalities have increased according to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2016, the most recent year for statistics, 5,190 workplace fatalities were reported (a 7-percent increase from 2015). There were 5,190 workplace fatalities in the United States compared to 4,836 in 2015.

More than one-quarter of all workplace fatalities in 2016 involved employees in transportation and material moving occupations with 1,388 injuries (up 7 percent). Transportation incidents are the largest cause of workplace fatalities (2,083) followed by violence and other injuries by persons and animals (866). Logging workers continue to have the highest work-related fatal injury rate at 135.9 per 100,000 workers (up from 132.7 in 2015).

Wyoming reported the highest work-related fatal injury rate at 12.3 per 100,000 workers followed by Alaska with a rate at 10.6 per 100,000 workers. The District of Columbia reported the lowest rate at 1.4 per 100,000 workers. Connecticut was the second lowest with a rate at 1.6 per 100,000 workers. North Carolina’s 2016 work-related fatal injury rate was 3.7 per 100,000 workers (up from 3.4 in 2015), with a total of 174 fatalities. In 2015, North Carolina had 150 work-related fatal injuries.

2016 Fatal Occupational Injuries Counts and Rates by State of Incident