by Jbs082810 e3 — August 30, 2010—Preliminary results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries released August 19 show a decline in workplace fatalities in 2009 compared with 2008. Last year, 4,340 workers died from work-related injuries, down from a final count of 5,214 fatal work injuries in 2008.
Among other highlights:
- 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.
Fatal work injuries in the private construction sector declined by 16 percent in 2009 following the decline of 19 percent in 2008, although workers in construction still incurred the most fatal injuries of any industry in the private sector in 2009.
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.
- Service-providing industries in the private sector recorded 49 percent of all fatal work injuries in 2009, while 41 percent were in goods-producing industries.
According to BLS, 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. In addition, some source documents were delayed, due at least in part to fiscal constraints at governmental agencies.
In response to the statistics, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement: “A single worker hurt or killed on the job is one too many. 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.” Solis concluded, “After all, as I’ve said before, no job is a good job unless it is also safe.”
