Fatal work injuries totaled 179 in 2021 for North Carolina, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in North Carolina was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 234 in 2000 to a low of 109 in 2013.

Nationwide, a total of 5,190 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2021, a 9-percent increase from 4,764 in 2020, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

Fatal event or exposure

In North Carolina, transportation incidents resulted in 62 fatal work injuries and accounted for 35 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 75 in the previous year.

Exposure to harmful substances or environments was the second-most frequent fatal work event with 38 fatalities, up from 36 in the prior year. Falls, slips, and trips resulted 29 fatalities, followed by contact with objects and equipment with 25 work-related deaths.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in 2021, accounting for 38 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (16 percent), followed by both exposure to harmful substances or environments and violence and other injuries by persons or animals (15 percent each) and contact with objects and equipment (14 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in North Carolina with 41, down from 43 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, and trips resulted in 13 of the 41 fatalities in the industry. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 28, or 68 percent, of the fatal workplace injuries in the construction industry.

The private administrative and support and waste management and remediations services industry sector had 22 fatal workplace injuries in 2021. Exposure to harmful substances or environments accounted for seven of the fatal injuries for this industry.

The transportation and warehousing industry sector had 20 fatal injuries in 2021, down from 26 in 2020. The general freight trucking industry group accounted for nine of the fatal injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry. 

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 38. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 20 of the 38 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 30. Construction trades workers accounted for 21 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights

Men accounted for 92 percent of the work-related fatalities in North Carolina, compared to the national rate of 91 percent. (See table 4.) Exposure to harmful substances or environments made up 20 percent of the fatalities for men in North Carolina.

White non-Hispanics accounted for 59 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 60 percent of work-related deaths.

Workers 45-64 years old accounted for 41 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2021, compared to the national rate of 43 percent.

Of the 179 fatal work injuries in North Carolina, 84 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 was the most frequent fatal event 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 fatalities resulting from workplace 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 2021 national data, over 23,900 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 at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm and the CFOI definitions at www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/occupational-safety-and-health-definitions.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/overview/cfoi-scope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

Latency Cases. Latent fatal occupational injury cases occur when the date of injury differs from the date of death. In some cases, the death occurs in a different year than the occupational injury and are known as cross-year latent cases. In 2021, there were 197 cases nationally where this occurred, and 174 of these latent cases occurred more than 30 days prior to the start of 2021. For more information on latent cases, see www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-10/latency-in-fatal-occupational-injuries.htm.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. CFOI reports fatal workplace injuries only. These may include fatal workplace injuries complicated by an illness such as COVID-19. Fatal workplace illnesses not precipitated by an injury are not in scope for CFOI. CFOI does not report any illness related information, including 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.

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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, North Carolina, 2020–21

Event or exposure (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	189	179	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	--	--	--
Transportation incidents	75	62	35
Aircraft incidents	2	4	2
Pedestrian vehicular incident	17	9	5
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	40	41	23
Roadway collision with other vehicle	22	25	14
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	--	14	8
Roadway noncollision incident	--	2	1
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	12	8	4
Nonroadway noncollision incident	9	6	3
Fires and explosions	--	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	28	29	16
Falls to lower level	22	21	12
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment	--	3	2
Fall through surface or existing opening	--	3	2
Other fall to lower level	19	15	8
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	36	38	21
Exposure to other harmful substances	26	29	16
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose	24	24	13
Inhalation of harmful substance	--	5	3
Contact with objects and equipment	26	25	14
Struck by object or equipment	19	18	10
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	10	13	7
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	4	4	2
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	--	3	2
Excavation or trenching cave-in	--	3	2
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/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.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, North Carolina, 2020–21

Industry (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	189	179	100
Private industry (2)	173	158	88
Goods producing	--	--	--
Natural resources and mining	18	11	6
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	18	11	6
Construction	43	41	23
Construction	43	41	23
Construction of buildings	7	9	5
Heavy and civil engineering construction	7	4	2
Specialty trade contractors	29	28	16
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	11	11	6
Building equipment contractors	7	7	4
Building finishing contractors	7	7	4
Other specialty trade contractors	4	3	2
Manufacturing	21	16	9
Service providing (3)	--	--	--
Trade, transportation, and utilities	42	--	--
Wholesale trade	3	7	4
Retail trade	11	6	3
Transportation and warehousing	26	20	11
Truck transportation	18	14	8
General freight trucking	15	9	5
Specialized freight trucking	3	5	3
Support activities for transportation	--	1	1
Information	--	--	--
Financial activities	--	3	2
Real estate and rental and leasing	--	3	2
Professional and business services	--	--	--
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	23	22	12
Educational and health services	4	--	--
Health care and social assistance	4	3	2
Leisure and hospitality	--	13	7
Other services, except public administration	6	8	4
Government (4)	16	21	12
Federal government	3	8	4
State government	1	--	--
Local government	12	13	7
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/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts. Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts. (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/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.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, North Carolina, 2020–21

Occupation (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	189	179	100
Management occupations	11	14	8
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	--	--
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--	--
Community and social service occupations	--	1	1
Legal occupations	--	--	--
Educational instruction and library occupations	--	--	--
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	--	--
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	--	--
Healthcare support occupations	--	3	2
Protective service occupations	9	11	6
Food preparation and serving related occupations	3	6	3
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	19	18	10
Grounds maintenance workers	12	11	6
Personal care and service occupations	--	--	--
Sales and related occupations	5	7	4
Supervisors of sales workers	2	3	2
Office and administrative support occupations	--	--	--
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	11	5	3
Construction and extraction occupations	38	30	17
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	--	7	4
Construction trades workers	35	21	12
Cement masons, concrete finishers, and terrazzo workers	--	1	1
Construction laborers	5	5	3
Roofers	5	3	2
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	20	21	12
Production occupations	12	15	8
Transportation and material moving occupations	45	38	21
Air transportation workers	1	3	2
Motor vehicle operators	33	26	15
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	--	26	15
Driver/sales workers	--	3	2
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	--	20	11
Light truck drivers	--	3	2
Material moving workers	11	9	5
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/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.
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/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.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, North Carolina, 2020–21

Worker characteristics	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	189	179	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	168	151	84
Self-employed (2)	21	28	16
Gender
Men	172	164	92
Women	17	15	8
Age (3)
25 to 34 years	40	31	17
35 to 44 years	35	30	17
45 to 54 years	36	37	21
55 to 64 years	36	37	21
65 years and over	26	30	17
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	124	105	59
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	31	35	20
Hispanic or Latino	30	33	18
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/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.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.