The number is up but the rate is down for workplace fatalities
More workers in the United States died fromon-the-clock injuries in 2015 than in anyof the six previous years, though the rate of such deaths has been falling, according to data released this month by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The census of workplace fatalities, first conducted in 1992, provides a detailed view of workplace safety in America and shows the demographic groups and professions most at risk of fatal workplace injury.
Here’ s a look at some of the key figures from the new report: 4,836 That’s the total number of fatal workplace injuries in 2015, the highest since 2008, when such injuries resulted in 5,214 deaths.
High as the total may seem, the rate of workplacedeaths—asashare of every 100,000 full-time equivalent workers — fell slightlyfrom2014 andhas fallen relatively steadily since 2006. 93% Men accounted for all but 7 percent of the total workplace deaths last year. 2,054 That’s the number of transportation-related episodes that resulted in fatalities, accounting for about 42 percent of all workplace deaths.
Asaresult, 745 drivers of heavy andtractor-trailer trucks died because of injuries at worklast year, more than any other major civilian occupation.
Falls, slips andtrips made up the next most commonmajorcause of workplace fatalities, resulting in 800deaths last year. 903 That’s the number of Hispanic or Latino workers who died in 2015, approximately two-thirds of them foreign-born. More Hispanics or Latinos died from workplace injuries in 2015 than in any year since 2007, when the number for the group was 937. 650 Workers 65 years and older died at higher rates last year than their peers in any other age group. With 650 deaths for those senior workers, 2015 was the second-worst year for the age group since the data was first collected in 1992. Only 2014’s total, 684, was larger. 18% That’s the decline in the number of workplace suicides from 2014. The homicide rate rose 2 percent. Over the last five years, both declined.