The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released their National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries for 2017. The total fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2017 was 5,147 which is down slightly from 5,190 in 2016. This shows that we are headed in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go for the preferred number of 0.

This table was also released and is very comprehensive in the information that it contains (2003-2017). Instead of interpreting the table for you, we thought it best to just let you view the information and decide what is most relevant for your specific workplace. Let’s make 2019 safer than any previous year.

Highlights from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“Fatal falls were at their highest level in the 26-year history of the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) accounting for 887 (17 percent) worker deaths. Transportation incidents remained the most frequent fatal event in 2017 with 2,077 (40 percent) occupational fatalities. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals decreased 7 percent in 2017 with homicides and suicides decreasing by 8 percent and 5 percent, respectively.”

“The transportation and material moving occupational group and the construction and extraction occupational group accounted for 47 percent of worker deaths in 2017. Within the occupational subgroup driver/sales workers and truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers had the largest number of fatal occupational injuries with 840. This represented the highest value for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers since the occupational series began in 2003. Fishers and related fishing workers and logging workers had the highest published rates of fatal injury in 2017.”

• Fifteen percent of the fatally-injured workers in 2017 were age 65 or over – a series high. In 1992, the first year CFOI published national data, that figure was 8 percent. These workers also had a higher fatality rate than other age groups in 2017.
• Fatalities incurred by non-Hispanic Black or African American workers and non-Hispanic Asian workers each decreased 10 percent from 2016 to 2017.
• Fatal occupational injuries in the private manufacturing industry and wholesale trade industry were the lowest since this series began in 2003.
• Workplace fatalities in the private mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry increased 26 percent to 112 in 2017 from a series low of 89 in 2016. Over 70 percent of these fatalities were incurred by workers in the oil and gas extraction industries.

Learn more about OSHA construction standards.

Characteristic	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Total1	4,585	4,821	4,836	5,190	5,147

State of incident	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Alabama	78	75	70	100	83
Alaska	32	30	14	35	33
Arizona	95	88	69	77	90
Arkansas	63	67	74	68	76
California	396	344	388	376	376
Colorado	65	84	75	81	77
Connecticut	29	35	44	28	35
Delaware	11	12	8	12	10
District of Columbia	25	11	8	5	13
Florida	239	228	272	309	299
Georgia	117	152	180	171	194
Hawaii	11	31	18	29	20
Idaho	30	34	36	30	37
Illinois	176	164	172	171	163
Indiana	127	130	115	137	138
Iowa	72	91	60	76	72
Kansas	55	73	60	74	72
Kentucky	86	82	99	92	70
Louisiana	114	120	112	95	117
Maine	19	19	15	18	18
Maryland	79	74	69	92	87
Massachusetts	57	55	69	109	108
Michigan	135	143	134	162	153
Minnesota	69	62	74	92	101
Mississippi	68	75	77	71	90
Missouri	118	106	117	124	125
Montana	28	28	36	38	32
Nebraska	39	55	50	60	35
Nevada	42	40	44	54	32
New Hampshire	14	17	18	22	11
New Jersey	102	87	97	101	69
New Mexico	54	53	35	41	44
New York (including N.Y.C.)	178	241	236	272	313
New York City	56	79	74	56	87
North Carolina	109	137	150	174	183
North Dakota	56	38	47	28	38
Ohio	149	185	202	164	174
Oklahoma	92	98	91	92	91
Oregon	49	69	44	72	60
Pennsylvania	183	179	173	163	172
Rhode Island	10	10	6	9	8
South Carolina	75	64	117	96	88
South Dakota	20	29	21	31	30
Tennessee	95	127	112	122	128
Texas	508	531	527	545	534
Utah	37	54	42	44	43
Vermont	7	10	9	10	22
Virginia	128	116	106	153	118
Washington	56	88	70	78	84
West Virginia	61	38	35	47	51
Wisconsin	97	99	104	105	106
Wyoming	26	37	34	34	20

Employee status	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Wage and salary workers2	3,635	3,728	3,751	4,098	4,069
Self-employed3	950	1,093	1,085	1,092	1,078

Gender	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Women	319	367	344	387	386
Men	4,265	4,454	4,492	4,803	4,761

Age	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Under 16 years	5	8	12	13	15
16 to 17 years	9	14	12	17	7
18 to 19 years	57	42	50	43	62
20 to 24 years	279	292	329	310	293
25 to 34 years	777	753	758	834	872
35 to 44 years	853	860	864	979	907
45 to 54 years	1,115	1,161	1,130	1,145	1,059
55 to 64 years	933	1,007	1,031	1,160	1,155
65 years and over	557	684	650	688	775

Race or ethnic origin4	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
White (non-Hispanic)	3,125	3,332	3,241	3,481	3,449
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	439	475	495	587	530
Hispanic or Latino	817	804	903	879	903
American Indian or Alaskan Native (non-Hispanic)	35	34	36	38	38
Asian (non-Hispanic)	125	137	114	160	144
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)	7	5	9	7	17
Multiple races (non-Hispanic)	12	20	12	15	9
Other races or not reported (non-Hispanic)	25	14	26	23	57