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News Release Information

14-1773-ATL
Friday, November 07, 2014

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Fatal Work Injuries in Mississippi - 2013

Fatal work injuries totaled 64 in 2013 for Mississippi, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that while the 2013 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in Mississippi was close to the count for the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 128 in 1995 and 1999 to a low of 63 in 2011 and 2012. Over the last five years, the number of fatalities has remained below 70. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,405 fatal work injuries was recorded in 2013, down from a final 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.

Of the 64 fatal work injuries reported in Mississippi in 2013, 32 resulted from transportation incidents, followed by falls, slips, and trips; and contact with objects and equipment (9 each); together these three major categories accounted for more than three quarters of all fatal work injuries. Other major event categories each reported less than 9 deaths. (See table 1.) Within transportation incidents, roadway incidents was the most frequent type of workplace fatality with 25 deaths; in fact, it accounted for nearly two-fifths of all on-the-job fatalities in the state. In the contact with objects and equipment category, four deaths occurred from being struck by an object or equipment. Falls to a lower level accounted for six deaths within the falls, slips, trips category. (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.)

In the United States, transportation incidents was also the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2013, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. Mississippi’s share of on-the-job fatalities due to this event was 50 percent. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second most frequent type of event nationally with 17 percent of work-related fatalities, greater than the 13 percent share for this event in Mississippi. Contact with objects or equipment and falls, trips, and slips each accounted for 16 percent of the nation’s workplace fatalities.

 

Additional key characteristics:
  • The trade, transportation, and utilities industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in the state with 24, up from 18 the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents accounted for 19 of the worker deaths. Government had the second highest fatality count with 13.
  • Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of fatal work injuries with 25. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 16 of these deaths. Workers in construction and extraction occupations and protective service occupations had the next highest fatal count with 8 each.
  • Men accounted for 60, or 94 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the state. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up more than half of these fatalities.
  • In Mississippi, 66 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics. Nationwide, this group accounted for 68 percent of work-related deaths.
  • Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 32, or 50 percent, of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2013. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 60 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
  • Of the 64 persons that suffered fatal work injuries in Mississippi, 81 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the United States during the calendar year. The program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.

For technical information about the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/home.htm.

Federal/State agency coverage. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or was outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used by each agency.

Acknowledgments. The Bureau of Labor Statistics appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that submitted source documents used to identify fatal work injuries, in particular the Mississippi Department of Labor.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Mississippi, 2012-2013
Event or exposure(1)2012(2)2013(p)
NumberNumberPercent

Total

6364100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

12813

Intentional injury by person

11813

Intentional injury by other person

969

Shooting by other person--intentional

758

Transportation incidents

243250

Pedestrian vehicular incident

--46

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

172539

Roadway collision with other vehicle

111320

Roadway collision--moving in same direction

669

Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly

--35

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

--58

Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway

--58

Roadway noncollision incident

469

Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway

369

Fires and Explosions

--35

Fires

--35

Falls, slips, trips

7914

Falls on same level

--35

Falls to lower level

769

Other fall to lower level

635

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

435

Indirect exposure to electricity

--12

Indirect exposure to electricity, 220 volts or less

--12

Contact with objects and equipment

14914

Struck by object or equipment

1046

Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport

--35

Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects

335

Caught in running equipment or machinery

335

Footnotes:
(1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward. Total may include other events not shown.
(2) Totals for 2012 are revised and final.
(p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2013 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2015.
 

NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.
 

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Mississippi, 2012-2013
Industry(1)2012(2)2013(p)
NumberNumberPercent

Total

6364100

Private industry

615180

Natural resources and mining

746

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

635

Construction

1469

Highway, street, and bridge construction

512

Trade, transportation, and utilities

182438

Wholesale trade

335

Retail trade

346

Transportation and warehousing

111727

Truck transportation

91422

General freight trucking

51016

General freight trucking, local

346

General freight trucking, long-distance

--69

General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload

--58

Specialized freight trucking

446

Information

--69

Professional and business services

746

Administrative and support services

635

Services to buildings and dwellings

535

Educational and health services

--35

Government(3)

--1320

Local government

--1117

Footnotes:
(1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Total may include other industries not shown.
(2) Totals for 2012 are revised and final.
(p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2013 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2015.
(3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry.
 

NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.
 

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Mississippi, 2012-2013
Occupation(1)2012(2)2013(p)
NumberNumberPercent

Total

6364100

Protective service occupations

--813

Supervisors of protective service workers

--35

Law enforcement workers

--58

Police officers

--46

Police and sheriff's patrol officers

--46

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

646

Sales and related occupations

335

Construction and extraction occupations

9813

Construction trades workers

669

Construction laborers

358

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

369

Transportation and material moving occupations

172539

Motor vehicle operators

152133

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

152031

Driver/sales workers

--35

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

151625

Footnotes:
(1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010.
(2) Totals for 2012 are revised and final.
(p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2013 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2015.
 

NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.
 

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Mississippi, 2012-2013
Worker characteristics2012(1)2013(p)
NumberNumberPercent

Total

6364100

Employee status

 

Wage and salary(2)

435281

Self-employed(3)

201219

Gender

 

Men

-46

Women

616094

Age(4)

 

35 to 44 years

161219

45 to 54 years

122031

55 to 64 years

102133

65 years and over

1369

Race or ethnic origin(5)

 

White, non-Hispanic

384266

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

231930

Footnotes:
(1) Totals for 2012 are revised and final.
(p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2013 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2015.
(2) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation.
(3) Includes self-employed workers, owners of unincorporated businesses and farms, paid and unpaid family workers, and may include some owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships.
(4) Information may not be available for all age groups.
(5) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers.
 

NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, November 07, 2014