Preliminary results of the National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) in 2009, released today, indicate a decrease in the total number of fatal workplace injuries from 2008. A preliminary total of 4,340 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2009, down from a final count of 5,214 fatal work injuries in 2008. The 2009 total represents the smallest annual preliminary total since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program was first conducted in 1992. The preliminary count reflects a rate of fatal work injury for U.S. workers in 2009 at 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, compared to a final rate of 3.7 in 2008. Counts and rates are expected to increase with the release of final 2009 CFOI results in April 2011.

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. Industries, such as construction, that have historically accounted for a significant share of fatal work injuries, experienced even larger declines in employment or hours worked. In addition, some source documents used by CFOI State partners to identify and verify fatal work injuries were delayed due, at least in part, to budget constraints at some of the governmental agencies that regularly provide source documentation for the program.

Key 2009 CFOI preliminary findings:

  • Workplace homicides declined 1 percent in 2009, in contrast to an overall decline of 17 percent for all fatal work injuries. The homicide total for 2009 includes the 13 victims of the November shooting at Fort Hood. Workplace suicides were down 10 percent in 2009 from the series high of 263 in 2008.
  • Though wage and salary 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, while fatal injuries among self-employed workers were down 3 percent.
  • The wholesale trade industry was one of the few major private industry sectors reporting higher numbers of fatal work injuries in 2009.
  • Fatal work injuries in the private construction sector declined by 16 percent in 2009 following the decline of 19 percent in 2008.
  • Fatalities among non-Hispanic black or African-American workers were down 24 percent. This worker group also experienced a slightly larger decline in total hours worked than non-Hispanic white or Hispanic workers.
  • 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.
  • Transportation incidents, which accounted for nearly two-fifths of all the fatal work injuries in 2009, fell 21 percent from the 2,130 fatal work injuries reported in 2008.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; www.bls.gov.