Fatal work injuries totaled 178 in 2018 for North Carolina, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in North Carolina was down from 183 in the previous 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 total of 5,250 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2018, up from the 5,147 fatal injuries in 2017, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In North Carolina, transportation incidents resulted in 84 fatal work injuries, up from 73 over the year. This major category accounted for 47 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.)

Contact with objects and equipment was the second-most frequent fatal work event with 24 fatalities, similar to the previous year. Two other events—violence and other injuries by persons or animals; and falls, slips, and trips—each had 23 fatal work injuries in 2018. Workers deaths from violence and other injuries by persons or animals were down from 27 over the year, while worker fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips were down from 28 in the previous year.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2018, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most common fatal event (16 percent), followed by falls, slips, and trips (15 percent) and contact with objects and equipment (15 percent).

Industry

The private transportation and warehousing industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in North Carolina with 31, up from 27 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents accounted for about three-fourths of those fatally injured in the industry. The general freight trucking sector accounted for 15 of the 31 workplace fatalities in the transportation and warehousing industry.

The private construction industry had 30 fatalities in North Carolina, down from 36 in the previous year. The specialty trade contractors sector accounted for 20, or two-thirds, of the fatal injuries in the construction industry.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 46. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 25 of the 46 fatalities in the transportation and material moving occupational group. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second highest number of workplace fatalities with 26. Construction trades workers suffered 21 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 91 percent of the work-related fatalities in North Carolina, similar to the 92-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 47 percent of the fatalities for men in North Carolina.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 63 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 65 percent of work-related deaths.

• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 48 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2018, compared to 58 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

• Of the 178 fatally-injured workers in North Carolina, 86 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents; transportation incidents and 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 (CFOI), part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, is a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI uses a variety of state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This ensures counts are as complete and accurate as possible. For the 2018 national data, over 24,800 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI, see the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm.

Federal/State agency coverage. The CFOI includes data for all fatal work injuries, some of which may be outside the scope of other agencies or regulatory coverage. Comparisons between CFOI counts and those released by other agencies should account for the different coverage requirements and definitions used by each agency. For more information on the scope of CFOI, see www.bls.gov/iif/cfoiscope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the North Carolina Department of Labor for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that provided source documents used to identify fatal work injuries. Among these agencies are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety and Health Administration; the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; state vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; state departments of health, labor, and industrial relations and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.

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, 2017–18

Event or exposure (1)	2017	2018
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	183	178	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	27	23	13
Intentional injury by person	27	20	11
Intentional injury by other person	21	8	4
Shooting by other person--intentional	12	8	4
Self-inflicted injury--intentional	6	12	7
Shooting--intentional self-harm	5	6	3
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation--intentional self-harm	--	6	3
Transportation incidents	73	84	47
Pedestrian vehicular incident	7	9	5
Water vehicle incidents	1	4	2
Capsized or sinking water vehicle	--	3	2
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	49	64	36
Roadway collision with other vehicle	28	29	16
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	18	27	15
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	18	24	13
Roadway noncollision incident	3	8	4
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	12	5	3
Fires and explosions	6	4	2
Explosions	5	3	2
Falls, slips, trips	28	23	13
Falls on same level	6	4	2
Falls to lower level	22	19	11
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	23	19	11
Exposure to electricity	6	1	1
Exposure to other harmful substances	14	14	8
Contact with objects and equipment	26	24	13
Struck by object or equipment	18	18	10
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	5	5	3
Overexertion and bodily reaction	--	--	--
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, North Carolina, 2017–18

Industry (1)	2017	2018
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	183	178	100
Private industry	163	158	89
Goods producing	69	58	33
Natural resources and mining	22	11	6
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	22	11	6
Construction	36	30	17
Construction	36	30	17
Construction of buildings	4	4	2
Heavy and civil engineering construction	5	6	3
Specialty trade contractors	27	20	11
Manufacturing	11	17	10
Service providing	94	100	56
Trade, transportation, and utilities	42	44	25
Wholesale trade	3	5	3
Retail trade	12	8	4
Transportation and warehousing	27	31	17
Truck transportation	16	22	12
General freight trucking	9	15	8
Specialized freight trucking	7	7	4
Information	--	--	--
Financial activities	3	--	--
Professional and business services	24	31	17
Administrative and waste services	24	29	16
Administrative and support services	21	27	15
Services to buildings and dwellings	17	19	11
Landscaping services	17	16	9
Educational and health services	6	5	3
Leisure and hospitality	12	6	3
Other services, except public administration	6	9	5
Government (2)	20	20	11
Federal government	12	5	3
State government	5	3	2
Local government	3	12	7
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012. (2) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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, 2017–18

Occupation (1)	2017	2018
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	183	178	100
Management occupations	16	7	4
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	--	--
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--	--
Community and social services occupations	--	--	--
Legal occupations	--	--	--
Education, training, and library occupations	--	--	--
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	1	--	--
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	2	--	--
Healthcare support occupations	--	--	--
Protective service occupations	10	15	8
Fire fighting and prevention workers	1	2	1
Law enforcement workers	4	9	5
Food preparation and serving related occupations	3	4	2
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	17	23	13
Grounds maintenance workers	13	15	8
Personal care and service occupations	--	2	1
Sales and related occupations	9	7	4
Retail sales workers	3	5	3
Office and administrative support occupations	7	6	3
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	10	4	2
Construction and extraction occupations	29	26	15
Construction trades workers	24	21	12
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	12	21	12
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	3	5	3
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	14	8
Production occupations	6	5	3
Transportation and material moving occupations	48	46	26
Motor vehicle operators	40	33	19
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	36	29	16
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	27	25	14
Light truck or delivery services drivers	8	3	2
Material moving workers	5	9	5
Military specific occupations (2)	9	4	2
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. (2) 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 selected demographic characteristics, North Carolina, 2017–18

Worker characteristics	2017	2018
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	183	178	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	145	153	86
Self-employed (2)	38	25	14
Gender
Men	174	162	91
Women	9	16	9
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	18	21	12
25 to 34 years	27	24	13
35 to 44 years	45	25	14
45 to 54 years	33	36	20
55 to 64 years	29	41	23
65 years and over	31	29	16
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	119	112	63
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	36	42	24
Hispanic or Latino	20	16	9
American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic	6	4	2
Asian, non-Hispanic	--	3	2
Footnotes: (1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (2) 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. (3) Information may not be available for all age groups. (4) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude data for Hispanics and Latinos.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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.