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BLS 10-181 |
WORKPLACE FATALITIES IN OREGON — 2009
Fatal work injuries in Oregon totaled 66 in 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that while these results are preliminary, the number of fatalities in Oregon was up from the 55 recorded in 2008. (See chart 1.) Final 2009 national and State results will be released in April 2011.
Chart 1. Total workplace fatalities in Oregon, 1992–2009
The most frequent events lending to workplace fatalities in Oregon in 2009 were highway incidents (20), being struck by object or equipment (9), homicides (7) and being caught in or compressed by equipment or objects (5). (See table A.) Combined, these four events accounted for 62 percent of all work-related fatalities in the State.
Highway incidents remained the most frequent fatal workplace event for both the State and the nation in 2009. The number of fatal injuries from this event in Oregon totaled 20 in 2009, up from 12 in 2008. Highway incidents accounted for 30 percent of the State’s workplace fatalities in 2009; nationally, this event accounted for 20 percent of work-related deaths. (See tables A and B.)
Occupational fatalities resulting from being struck by object or equipment accounted for 9 deaths in 2009, up from 5 in 2008. Being struck by object or equipment represented 14 percent of all workplace fatalities in the State and 10 percent nationwide.
The 7 fatalities from work-related homicides accounted for 11 percent of all fatal work injuries in Oregon in 2009. Nationally, this event accounted for 12 percent of the total.
Oregon work-related fatalities resulting from being caught or compressed by an object or equipment, declined to 5, down from 7 in 2008. Being caught or compressed by an object or equipment accounted for 8 percent of all workplace fatalities in the State compared to 5 percent nationwide.
[1]Fatal events are categorized into several major groupings including transportation incidents, assaults and violent acts, and falls, among others. These major groups are further broken down into more detailed groups. See the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) Manual at www.bls.gov/iif/oshoiics.htm for detailed information on the categories of fatalities used in the census.
Year | Total Fatalities | Highway incidents | Struck by object or equipment | Homicides | Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | ||
1992 |
88 | 23 | 26 | 13 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
1993 |
84 | 19 | 23 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
1994 |
80 | 18 | 22 | 13 | 16 | 10 | 12 | - | - |
1995 |
73 | 22 | 30 | 11 | 15 | - | - | 4 | 5 |
1996 |
85 | 22 | 26 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
1997 |
84 | 26 | 31 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 7 |
1998 |
72 | 20 | 28 | 6 | 8 | - | - | 9 | 12 |
1999 |
69 | 12 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 14 |
2000 |
52 | 15 | 29 | 8 | 15 | - | - | 5 | 10 |
2001 |
44 | 9 | 20 | 7 | 16 | - | - | 3 | 7 |
2002 |
63 | 13 | 21 | 11 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
2003 |
75 | 26 | 35 | 10 | 13 | - | - | 3 | 4 |
2004 |
60 | 14 | 23 | 7 | 12 | - | - | 8 | 13 |
2005 |
65 | 19 | 29 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 12 |
2006 |
87 | 25 | 29 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
2007 |
69 | 13 | 19 | 9 | 13 | - | - | 4 | 6 |
2008(1) |
55 | 12 | 22 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 13 |
2009(2) |
66 | 20 | 30 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 8 |
Footnotes: |
Key characteristics of fatal work injuries in Oregon
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Men accounted for 92 percent (61) of the work-related fatalities in Oregon in 2009. Transportation incidents, which include highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail fatalities, accounted for 54 percent of these deaths. Contact with objects and equipment made up 21 percent of the fatal injuries to men, while assaults and violent acts accounted for 11 percent. (See table 2.)
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Eighty percent of those who died from a workplace injury in Oregon were white, non-Hispanic (53) and 12 percent were Hispanic or Latino (8) (Some worker fatalities were not identified by race or ethnic origin.) Transportation incidents were the most frequent type of fatality for both white, non-Hispanic and Hispanic or Latino workers. (See table 2.)
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Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group?made up 56 percent, or 37, of the State’s work-related fatalities in 2009. (See table 2.)
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Seventy-seven percent of workers killed on the job worked for wages and salaries (51), the rest were self-employed (15). Transportation incidents were the leading fatal event for both wage and salary workers (28) as well as self-employed workers (6). (See table 2.)
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Two industry sectors made up 35 percent of the workplace fatalities in the State?agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (15), and construction (8). Transportation incidents were the most frequent type of fatal injuries in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (7) as well as in construction (6). (See table 3.)
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From an occupational perspective, transportation and material moving jobs had the largest number of fatal work injuries (17) followed by, farming, fishing, and forestry jobs (15). Combined, these two occupational groups accounted for 48 percent of all fatal work injuries in Oregon. Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal injuries in both occupational groups. (See table 4.)
U.S. Workplace Fatalities
Nationwide, a total of 4,340 fatal work injuries were reported in 2009, a decrease of 17 percent from the revised total of 5,214 recorded in 2008. This preliminary figure represents the smallest annual total since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program was first conducted in 1992. (See table B.) Economic factors played a major role in the national fatal work injury decrease as total hours worked declined during the year. Similarly, some industries that historically have accounted for a significant share of fatal work injuries, such as construction, experienced even larger declines in employment or hours worked.
Highway incidents in 2009 continued to lead all other events in the frequency of on-the-job fatalities, a position held since the program’s inception in 1992. Still, the 2009 count of 882 fatal injuries from highway incidents was down 27 percent from the 2008 count of 1,215 fatal injuries.
Workplace homicides (521) declined 1 percent in 2009. Falls to a lower level decreased 13 percent (from 593 in 2008 to 518 in 2009). Around half of all fatal falls to a lower level occur in construction, so the decline in construction employment may account for the lower number of fatal work injuries due to falls to a lower level.
Workplace suicides (237) were down 10 percent nationwide in 2009 from the series high of 263 in 2008. However, the 2009 preliminary count of workplace suicides is the second highest annual total reported by the fatality census.
Thirty-seven states reported lower numbers of fatal work injuries in 2009 than in 2008, while 13 states and the District of Columbia reported higher numbers.
Year | Total Fatalities | Highway incidents | Homicides | Falls to a lower level | Struck by object or equipment | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | ||
1992 |
6,217 | 1,158 | 19 | 1,044 | 17 | 507 | 8 | 557 | 9 |
1993 |
6,331 | 1,242 | 20 | 1,074 | 17 | 534 | 8 | 565 | 9 |
1994 |
6,632 | 1,343 | 20 | 1,080 | 16 | 580 | 9 | 591 | 9 |
1995 |
6,275 | 1,346 | 21 | 1,036 | 17 | 578 | 9 | 547 | 9 |
1996 |
6,202 | 1,346 | 22 | 927 | 15 | 610 | 10 | 582 | 9 |
1997 |
6,238 | 1,393 | 22 | 860 | 14 | 653 | 10 | 579 | 9 |
1998 |
6,055 | 1,442 | 24 | 714 | 12 | 625 | 10 | 520 | 9 |
1999 |
6,054 | 1,496 | 25 | 651 | 11 | 634 | 10 | 585 | 10 |
2000 |
5,920 | 1,365 | 23 | 677 | 11 | 659 | 11 | 571 | 10 |
2001(1) |
5,915 | 1,409 | 24 | 643 | 11 | 700 | 12 | 553 | 9 |
2002 |
5,534 | 1,373 | 25 | 609 | 11 | 638 | 12 | 505 | 9 |
2003 |
5,575 | 1,353 | 24 | 632 | 11 | 604 | 11 | 531 | 10 |
2004 |
5,764 | 1,398 | 24 | 559 | 10 | 738 | 13 | 602 | 10 |
2005 |
5,734 | 1,437 | 25 | 567 | 10 | 664 | 12 | 607 | 11 |
2006 |
5,840 | 1,356 | 23 | 540 | 9 | 738 | 13 | 589 | 10 |
2007 |
5,657 | 1,414 | 25 | 628 | 11 | 746 | 13 | 504 | 9 |
2008(2) |
5,214 | 1,215 | 23 | 526 | 10 | 593 | 11 | 520 | 10 |
2009(3) |
4,340 | 882 | 20 | 521 | 12 | 518 | 12 | 414 | 10 |
Footnotes: |
Technical Note
Background of the program
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. in each calendar year. The program uses diverse State, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.
For technical information about the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site here: www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch9_a1.htm. The technical information and definitions for the CFOI Program are in Chapter 9, Part III of the BLS Handbook of Methods.
Federal/State agency coverage
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or State agencies or was outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used by each agency.
Several federal and State agencies have jurisdiction over workplace safety and health. OSHA and affiliated agencies in States with approved safety programs cover the largest portion of the nation's workers. However, injuries and illnesses occurring in certain industries or activities, such as coal, metal, and nonmetal mining and highway, water, rail, and air transportation, are excluded from OSHA coverage because they are covered by other federal agencies, such as the Mine Safety and Health Administration and various agencies within the Department of Transportation.
Acknowledgements
BLS thanks the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services 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 submitted 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 Employment Standards Administration (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the Department of Energy; State vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; State departments of health, labor and industries, and workers' compensation agencies; State and local police departments; and State farm bureaus.
Detailed statistics on fatal occupational injuries in Oregon can be obtained from tables at www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/tgs/2009/iiffi41.htm
Last Modified Date: December 23, 2010
calculators
- Inflation
- Location Quotient
- Injury And Illness