September 30, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Fatal occupational injuries by industry, 2003

In 2003, agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting had the highest rate of fatal work injuries of any industry sector: 31.2 fatalities per 100,000 workers.

[Chart data—TXT]

The second highest rate was in the mining sector (26.9 per 100,000), followed by transportation and warehousing (17.5 per 100,000) and construction (11.7 per 100,000). In comparison, the overall rate in the U.S. was 4.0 per 100,000.

The largest number of fatal work injuries in 2003 was in the construction sector. The 1,126 fatal work injuries in private construction accounted for more than one out of every five workplace fatalities in 2003.

These data come from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. Additional information is available from "National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-1830. Note: The mining industry includes oil and gas extraction. 

Note on industry classification: Beginning with the 2003 reference year, CFOI began using the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Prior to 2003, the program used the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. Because of the substantial differences between the current and previous systems, the results by industry in 2003 constitute a break in series, and users are advised against making comparisons between the 2003 industry categories and the results for previous years. 

 

Related TED article:

• Fatal work injuries in 2003