Fatal work injuries totaled 128 in 2014 for North Carolina, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that while the 2014 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in North Carolina increased by 19 over the year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 234 in 2000 to a low of 109 in 2013. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,679 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2014, up from a revised count of 4,585 fatalities in 2013, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2014 CFOI data will be released in the late spring of 2016.

Of the 128 fatal work injuries reported in North Carolina in 2014, 46 resulted from transportation incidents and 24 from falls, slips, and trips. Together these two major categories accounted for over one-half of all fatal work injuries reported in the state. (See table 1.) Other major event categories each reported 18 or fewer deaths. Within transportation incidents, roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles was the most frequent type of workplace fatality with 23 deaths. This category accounted for nearly 18 percent of all on-the-job fatalities in the state. In the falls, slips, and trips category, 22 of the 24 deaths occurred as a result of falls to lower level. (Note that roadway counts presented in this release are expected to rise when updated 2014 data are released in the late spring of 2016 because key source documentation detailing specific transportation-related incidents has not yet been received.)

In the United States, transportation incidents were also the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2014, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. In North Carolina, transportation incidents accounted for 36 percent of the state’s share of fatalities. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, and trips was the second most frequent type of event nationally, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities; the share in North Carolina was 19 percent. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 16 percent of the nation’s workplace fatalities, while in the state, this event was responsible for 13 percent of workplace fatalities. Contact with objects and equipment was responsible for 15 percent of work-related fatalities nationwide; this event accounted for 14 percent of the state’s fatalities.

Additional highlights:

• The construction industry had the largest number of fatalities in the state with 35, compared to 21 the previous year. Falls, slips, and trips accounted for 14 fatal work injuries in this industry. (See table 2.)
• Trade, transportation, and utilities had the second highest fatality count with 29, followed by government with 20 worker deaths. Transportation incidents accounted for the largest number of deaths in each of these industries.
• Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of fatal work injuries with 31. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers suffered 17 of those deaths. (See table 3.)
• Men accounted for 121, or 95 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the state. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 36 percent of these fatalities.
• In North Carolina, 63 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 75, or 59 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2014. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 58 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• Of the 128 fatal work injuries in North Carolina, 83 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents. Falls, slips, and trips were the most frequent fatal events for self-employed workers.

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/pdf/homch9.pdf.

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 North Carolina 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, North Carolina, 2013–14

Event or exposure(1)	2013(2)	2014(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	109	128	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	20	16	13
Intentional injury by person	17	15	12
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	9	9	7
Shooting by other person--intentional	6	6	5
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	8	6	5
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation--intentional self-harm	--	3	2
Injury by person--unintentional or intent unknown	3	1	1
Transportation incidents	46	46	36
Aircraft incidents	--	3	2
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	--	1	1
Pedestrian vehicular incident	4	12	9
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	30	23	18
Roadway collision with other vehicle	13	4	3
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	15	18	14
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	15	18	14
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	8	8	6
Nonroadway noncollision incident	7	5	4
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	7	3	2
Fires and explosions	--	6	5
Falls, slips, trips	11	24	19
Falls to lower level	10	22	17
Other fall to lower level	7	12	9
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	7	18	14
Exposure to electricity	4	4	3
Exposure to other hamrful substances	--	11	9
Contact with objects and equipment	23	18	14
Struck by object or equipment	17	10	8
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	4	4	3
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	4	4	3
Caught in running equipment or machinery	4	3	2
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward. (2) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016.
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. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication guidelines.

 

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, North Carolina, 2013–14

Industry(1)	2013(2)	2014(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	109	128	100
Private industry	96	108	84
Natural resources and mining	18	13	10
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	18	12	9
Crop production	6	4	3
Forestry and logging	5	3	2
Construction	21	35	27
Construction of buildings	4	4	3
Heavy and civil engineering construction	3	4	3
Specialty trade contractors	14	26	20
Manufacturing	5	11	9
Food manufacturing	--	3	2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	26	29	23
Wholesale trade	5	4	3
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	5	3	2
Retail trade	8	8	6
Transportation and warehousing	13	17	13
Air transportation	--	1	1
Truck transportation	9	10	8
Support activities for transportation	--	3	2
Information	--	1	1
Financial activities	3	3	2
Finance and insurance	--	1	1
Real estate and rental and leasing	3	2	2
Professional and Business Services	9	8	6
Administrative and waste services	6	8	6
Educational and health services	--	4	3
Healthcare and social assistance	--	4	3
Lesiure and hospitality	7	3	2
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	--	2	2
Accommodation and food services	5	1	1
Other services, except public administration	6	1	1
Government(3)	13	20	16
Federal government	5	9	7
Local government	7	9	7
Footnotes: (1) Industry data for 2013 are based on the North American Classification System, 2007. Industry data for 2014 are based on the North American Classification System, 2012. (2) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016. (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. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, North Carolina, 2013–14

Occupation(1)	2013(2)	2014(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	109	128	100
Management occupations	13	6	5
Other management occupations	11	5	4
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	7	4	3
Arts, desing, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	1	1	1
Protective service occupations	6	8	6
Fire fighting and prevention workers	--	4	3
Firefighters	--	3	2
Law enforcement workers	--	4	3
Police officers	--	4	3
Law enforcement workers	--	4	3
Police officers	--	4	3
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	--	4	3
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	9	6	5
Personal care and service occupations	--	1	1
Sales and related occupations	5	8	6
Supervisors of sales workers	3	4	3
First-line supervisors of sales workers	3	4	3
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	--	4	3
Retail sales workers	--	3	2
Cashiers	--	3	2
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	11	8	6
Agricultural workers	3	5	4
Construction and extraction occupations	20	29	23
Construction trades workers	18	26	20
Carpenters	3	1	1
Construction laborers	6	7	5
Roofers	3	9	7
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	7	12	9
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	7	5
Production Occupations	4	6	5
Transportation and material moving occupations	21	31	24
Air transportation workers	--	1	1
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	--	1	1
Motor vehicle operators	17	22	17
Bus drivers	--	1	1
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	16	18	14
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	12	17	13
Material moving workers	--	7	5
Military occupations(3)	4	8	6
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. (2) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016. (3) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed.
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. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, North Carolina, 2013–14

Worker characteristics	2013(1)	2014(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	109	128	100
Employee status
Wage and salary(2)	83	106	83
Self-employed(3)	26	22	17
Gender
Men	100	121	95
Women	9	7	5
Age(4)
20 to 24 years	7	14	11
25 to 34 years	12	16	13
35 to 44 years	20	23	18
45 to 54 years	26	36	28
55 to 64 years	25	26	20
65 years and over	17	13	10
Race or ethnic origin(5)
White, non-Hispanic	77	81	63
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	13	24	19
Hispanic or Latino	16	18	14
Footnotes: (1) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016. (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.