In an August 2010 release by BLS, they state that the preliminary work fatalities total for 2009 was at 4,340, 17% below the 2008 count of 5,214. There was mention of an improvement in every sector, especially in construction and mining. The state of the economy was noted a considerable factor that led to a 6% decrease in total hours worked, with the construction industry facing especially large declines. In the documents used by the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, the State partners verified that the fatal work injuries were delayed in part to “fiscal constraints at some of the governmental agencies who regularly provide source documentation for the program.” They also mentioned that 2009’s preliminary total had the lowest number since the CFOI program was first established in 1992. Data collected revealed a rate of decrease from 3.7 in 2008 to 3.3 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2009 here in the U.S. While the count shows a significant improvement, BLS says “Counts and rates are likely to increase with the release of final 2009 CFOI results in April 2011.”
Key findings from the 2009 numbers include:
- Fatalities in manufacturing decreased by 26%
- Fatal injuries among self-employed workers were down only 3%.
- Workplace suicides were down 10% in 2009 from a series high of 263 in 2008.
- Fatalities in mining decreased by 43%
- The number of fatal work injuries in the building and grounds cleaning & maintenance occupations rose by 6%, making it one of the few major occupation groups to note an increase from 2008.
- Transportation incidents accounted for nearly 40% of all 2009 fatal work injuries but still fell 21% from a number of 2,130 in 2008.
- Workplace homicides decreased by 1% in 2009
- Fatal falls decreased by 12%, from 700 in 2008 to 617 in 2009. The latter was 27% below the series high of 847 fatal falls reported back in 2007. This correlates with the sharp decline of construction activity and employment since 2007.
- Fatalities in forestry and logging were down by 50% from 102 in 2008 to 51 in 2009.
Don’t forget, that when you implement a light commercial / residential roof safety railing system such as ours, you will see a decrease in serious injuries and deaths that occur on your own worksite.
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