National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2018

A total of 5,250 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2018 — a 2% increase from the 5,147 in 2017 — according to a recent release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The fatal work injury rate remained unchanged at 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers. This data is from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

Fatal event or exposure

• Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal event at 2,080, accounting for 40% of all work-related fatalities.
• Incidents involving contact with objects and equipment increased 13% (from 695 to 786), driven by a 39% increase in workers caught in running equipment or machinery and a 17% increase in workers struck by falling objects or equipment.
• Unintentional overdoses due to nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol while at work increased 12% from 272 to 305. This is the sixth consecutive annual increase.
• Violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased 3% in 2018, due to an 11% increase in work-related suicides from 275 to 304.
•  Fatal falls, slips, and trips decreased 11%t to 791, after reaching a series high of 887 in 2017. This decline was due to a 14% drop in falls to a lower level (713 to 615), the lowest total since 2013.

Independent workers

In 2016, the CFOI began identifying fatal injuries to independent workers. Independent workers are involved in a work relationship that is finite and involves a single task, short-term contract, or freelance work.

• In 2018, there were 621 fatal injuries to independent workers, up from 613 in 2017.
• Independent workers comprised 12% of all fatal injuries in 2018.
• Occupations with the most fatal work injuries to independent workers in 2018 were heavy and tractor trailer-truck drivers (96), followed by first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (61), and construction laborers (48).

Worker demographics

• Fatalities to non-Hispanic Black or African American workers increased 16% to 615 in 2018, the highest total since 1999. Their fatal injury rate also increased from 3.2 per 100,000 FTE workers in 2017 to 3.6 in 2018.
• Hispanic or Latino workers experienced 961 fatalities in 2018, a 6% increase from 2017. Sixty-seven percent of fatally injured Hispanic or Latino workers were born outside of the United States.
• Though the number of fatalities declined for workers age 65 years and over in 2018, their fatal work-injury rate is still more than double the all-worker rate.
• A total of 20 states and the District of Columbia had fewer fatal injuries in 2018 than 2017, while 28 states had more; Arkansas and Oklahoma had the same number as 2017.

For more information, visit https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf.