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News Release Information

21-322-ATL
Thursday, March 25, 2021

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

Fatal Occupational Injuries in Georgia — 2019

Fatal work injuries totaled 207 in 2019 for Georgia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Georgia was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 249 in 1994 to a low of 101 in 2012.

Nationwide, a total of 5,333 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2019, a 2-percent increase from the 5,250 in 2018, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. The 5,333 fatal occupational injuries in 2019 represents the largest annual number since 2007.


Fatal event or exposure

In Georgia, transportation incidents resulted in 81 fatal work injuries and violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 36 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 57 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 90 over the year and worker fatalities due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals were down from 40.

Exposure to harmful substances or environments was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 30 fatalities, followed by falls, slips, and trips with 29.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2019, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent).


Industry

The private construction industry had the highest number of fatalities in Georgia with 47. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents resulted in 10 of the 47 fatalities in the industry.

The private administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industry had 29 workplace fatalities, followed by the private transportation and warehousing sector with 25 work-related fatilities. The administrative and support services subsector accounted for 26, or 90 percent, of the fatal injuries for the private administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industry. The general freight trucking industry group accounted for 17, or 68 percent, of the fatal injuries for the private transportation and warehousing industry.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 54. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 27 of the 54 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second highest number of workplace fatalities with 47, followed by building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations with 21. Construction laborers suffered 16 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group. Grounds maintenance workers accounted for 18 of the 21 building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupational fatalities.

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 87 percent of the work-related fatalities in Georgia, compared to 92 percent nationwide. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 38 percent of the fatalities for men in Georgia.

  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 44 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 62 percent of work-related deaths.

  • Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 61 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2019, compared to 55 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

  • Of the 207 fatal work injuries in Georgia, 75 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers and for self-employed workers.

Changes in Industry and Occupation Classification Structure

Information in this release incorporates revisions to both the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the Standard Occupational Classification codes (SOC). Comparison of data for 2019 to prior years should be done with caution due to these changes, and thus analysis in this release is limited to 2019 for industries and occupations. More information on NAICS can be found at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm. More information on SOC can be found at www.bls.gov/soc/2018/home.htm.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Data in this news release are for reference year 2019. No changes in collection procedures or outputs were necessary due to COVID-19. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-on-workplace-injuries-and-illnesses-compensation-and-occupational-requirements.htm.


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 2019 national data, over 25,100 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 and the CFOI definitions at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.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 Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Georgia, 2018–19
Event or exposure (1)20182019
NumberNumberPercent

Total

186207100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

403617

Intentional injury by person

393215

Intentional injury by other person

252010

Self-inflicted injury--intentional

14126

Injury by person--unintentional or intent unknown

--21

Injury by other person--unintentional or intent unknown

--10

Self-inflicted injury--unintentional or intent unknown

--10

Transportation incidents

908139

Aircraft incidents

1663

Rail vehicle incidents

410

Pedestrian vehicular incident

22168

Water vehicle incidents

--10

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

395125

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

963

Fires and explosions

310

Falls, slips, trips

222914

Falls on same level

331

Falls to lower level

182613

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

153014

Exposure to electricity

594

Exposure to temperature extremes

131

Exposure to other harmful substances

8168

Contact with objects and equipment

162814

Struck by object or equipment

112110

Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects

352

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. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.


Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Georgia, 2019
Industry (1)NumberPercent

Total

207100

Private industry (2)

18589

Goods producing

----

Natural resources and mining

126

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

115

Construction

4723

Manufacturing

----

Service providing (3)

----

Trade, transportation, and utilities

4220

Wholesale trade

84

Retail trade

94

Transportation and warehousing

2512

Truck transportation

2110

General freight trucking

178

Information

----

Financial activities

42

Professional and business services

3014

Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

2914

Administrative and support services

2613

Educational and health services

52

Health care and social assistance

42

Leisure and hospitality

115

Accommodation and food services

115

Other services, except public administration

63

Government (4)

2211

Federal government

115

State government

----

Local government

115

Footnotes:
(1) CFOI has used several versions of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) since 2003 to define industry. For complete information on the version of NAICS used in this year, see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm.
(2) Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts.
(3) Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts.
(4) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. Cases classified as foreign government and other government are included in all government counts, but not displayed separately.

NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.


Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Georgia, 2019
Occupation (1)NumberPercent

Total

207100

Management occupations

115

Business and financial operations occupations

----

Computer and mathematical occupations

----

Architecture and engineering occupations

----

Life, physical, and social science occupations

----

Community and social service occupations

----

Legal occupations

----

Educational instruction and library occupations

----

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

10

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

10

Healthcare support occupations

----

Protective service occupations

105

Firefighting and prevention workers

----

Law enforcement workers

42

Food preparation and serving related occupations

42

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

2110

Grounds maintenance workers

189

Personal care and service occupations

31

Sales and related occupations

42

Office and administrative support occupations

73

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

73

Construction and extraction occupations

4723

Supervisors of construction and extraction workers

52

Construction trades workers

3718

Construction laborers

168

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

136

Production occupations

126

Transportation and material moving occupations

5426

Air transportation workers

31

Motor vehicle operators

3818

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

3517

Driver/sales workers

31

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

2713

Light truck drivers

52

Material moving workers

126

Military specific occupations (2)

84

Footnotes:
(1) CFOI has used several versions of the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) system since 2003 to define occupation. For complete information on the version of SOC used in this year, see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.
(2) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed.

NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.


Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, Georgia, 2018–19
Worker characteristics20182019
NumberNumberPercent

Total

186207100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

14615675

Self-employed (2)

405125

Gender

Men

17618087

Women

102713

Age (3)

Under 16 years

--10

20 to 24 years

19178

25 to 34 years

293517

35 to 44 years

474924

45 to 54 years

394321

55 to 64 years

323919

65 years and over

192110

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White, non-Hispanic

1069144

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

437436

Hispanic or Latino

243718

Asian, non-Hispanic

1252

Footnotes:
(1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. Cases where employment status is unknown are included in the counts of wage and salary workers.
(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. Cases where ethnicity is unknown are included in counts of non-Hispanic workers.

NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021