August 26, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Fatal work injuries in 2004

A total of 5,703 fatal work injuries were recorded in the U.S. in 2004, an increase of 2 percent from the revised total of 5,575 fatal work injuries reported for 2003.

 

[Chart data—TXT]

Despite the increase, the total for 2004 was the third lowest annual total recorded by the fatality census, which has been conducted each year since 1992.

The rate at which fatal work injuries occurred in 2004 was 4.1 per 100,000 workers, up slightly from a rate of 4.0 per 100,000 workers in 2002 and 2003. The increase in the fatality rate in 2004 was the first since 1994 when the rate was 5.3 fatalities per 100,000 workers.

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program, provides the most complete count of fatal work injuries available. The figure in the chart for 2001 excludes the 2,886 work-related fatalities that resulted from the September 11 terrorist attacks, which were tabulated separately. For more information on fatal work injuries, see "National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-1598.