New York, NY – The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported fatal work injuries totaled 152 in 2013 for the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that while the 2013 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in the New York area declined by 32 over the year. Fatal occupational injuries in the metropolitan area have ranged from a high of 236 in 2004 to a low of 145 in 2010. Over the last five years, the annual average number of fatalities was 163.
Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,405 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2013, down from a revised count of 4,628 fatal work injuries in 2012, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2013 CFOI data will be released in spring 2015.
In 2013, the New York area had the largest population nationally and placed first in the number of work-related fatalities among the 10 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States. The next most populated area in the country, Los Angeles, had the next highest number of workplace fatalities (102) in 2013. Atlanta, the ninth largest metropolitan area, had the lowest fatality count with 29.
Of the 152 fatal work injuries recorded in the New York metropolitan area in 2013, 49 resulted from transportation incidents; 25 of these were roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles, and 16 were pedestrian vehicular incidents. Transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal event in 8 of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in 2013, including New York. The areas with the highest shares of work-related deaths from transportation incidents were Miami (39.7 percent), Chicago (32.6 percent), and New York (32.2 percent). (Note that transportation counts presented in this release are expected to rise when updated 2013 data are released in spring 2015 because key source documentation detailing specific transportation-related incidents has not yet been received.)
Violence and other injuries by person or animals was the second-most frequent fatal event in the New York metropolitan area, accounting for one out of every four deaths. Among the largest ten metropolitan areas, the highest shares of workplace fatalities due to violence were in Washington (41.0 percent), Boston (35.7 percent), and Atlanta (27.6 percent). Twenty-two of the 38 New York area fatalities in this category were intentional injuries by other persons (homicides).
Falls, slips, and trips were the third-most frequent fatal event in the New York area, resulting in 20.4 percent of all fatalities. Of the 31 fatalities in this category, 25 involved falls to a lower level.
In the United States, transportation incidents were also the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2013, amounting to 40 percent of all fatal work injuries. In contrast, this category accounted for 32 percent of the work fatalities in the New York area. (See chart 3.) The second most frequent fatal event, violence and other injuries by persons or animals, with 17 percent of the deaths at work nationally, accounted for a 25-percent share of New York area fatal work injuries. Contact with objects or equipment and falls, slips, or trips each accounted for 16 percent of the nation’s workplace fatalities.
Additional key characteristics:
- The trade, transportation, and utilities sector had the largest number of fatalities in the area with 51, compared to 58 the previous year.(See table 3.) Two categories—violence and other injuries by persons or animals, and transportation incidents— each accounted for 21 worker deaths.
- The construction industry had the second highest fatality count with 36, unchanged from 2012. Half of these incidents were fatal falls, slips, and trips.
- Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of fatal work injuries with 51. (See table 4.) The majority of these fatalities were motor vehicle operators (32), including driver/sales workers and truck drivers. Construction and extraction workers had the second highest fatality count at 25, followed by installation, maintenance, and repair occupations, with 17.
- Men accounted for 144, or 95 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the area. (See table 5.) Almost one-third of these deaths resulted from transportation incidents, including 24 roadway fatalities involving motorized land vehicles.
- Hispanic or Latino workers were the decedents in 41 workplace deaths, compared to 43 in 2012. Foreign-born Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 28 incidents, down from 33 one year earlier. The most frequent event for Hispanic or Latino workers was contact with objects or equipment.
- Older workers—those 55 years old and over—accounted for 57, or 37 percent, of the metropolitan area’s work-related fatalities in 2013. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 32 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
Click here to read the full BLS report with tables and charts: BLS: Fatal Work Injuries in the New York Area – 2013
Source: BLS