Fatal work injuries totaled 71 in 2011 for New York City, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that while the 2011 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in New York City increased by three over the year. Fatal occupational injuries in the City have ranged from a high of 191 in 1993 to a low of 63 in 2009. Over the last three years, the City had among the fewest work fatalities since 1992 when the series began. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,609 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2011, down from a final count of 4,690 fatal work injuries in 2010, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2011 CFOI data will be released in spring 2013.

Of the 71 fatal work injuries reported in New York City in 2011, 24 resulted from violence and other injuries by persons or animals and 15 from falls, slips, and trips. Transportation incidents and contact with objects or equipment each accounted for an additional 13 deaths. (See table 1. Within workplace violence, homicides were the most frequent type of workplace fatality with 16 deaths; in fact, it accounted for 23 percent of all on-the-job fatalities in the City. The other cases of violence (8) involved self-inflicted injuries—suicides. In the falls category, the most frequent fatality (12) involved falls to lower levels, half of which occurred at heights greater than 30 feet.

In the United States, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event, accounting for 41 percent of fatal work injuries. New York City’s share of on-the-job fatalities due to this event was far lower, at 18 percent. (See chart 2.) On the other hand, violence and other injuries was the second most frequent type of event nationally, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities, was 17 percentage points lower than the share in New York City. Contact with objects or equipment (15 percent) and falls, slips, and trips (14 percent) were the third and fourth most frequent events, respectively, in the nation.

Additional key characteristics:

• The trade, transportation, and utilities sector had the largest number of fatalities with 17, down from 21 the previous year. (See table 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for nine of the worker deaths.
• The construction industry had the second highest fatality count with 16, little changed over the year. Falls, trips, and slips accounted for eight of the worker deaths in this sector, and contact with objects and equipment accounted for five.
• Government and professional and business services each had five more fatal work injuries in 2011 than in 2010.
• Construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 18.. (See table 3.) Falls, slips, and trips accounted for 10 of these incidents. Transportation and material moving occupations had the second highest fatality count at 17. The majority of these fatalities were motor vehicle operators (11), including taxi drivers and driver/sales workers.
• Men accounted for 65, or 92 percent of work-related fatalities in the City. (See table 4.) Violence made up nearly one out of every three of these fatalities.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 50, or 70 percent, of the City’s work-related fatalities in 2011. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 60 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• Black and Hispanic or Latino workers were the decedents in close to 50 percent of the workplace deaths. Nationwide, these two groups amounted to 25 percent of work-related deaths.
• Of the 71 occupational fatalities in New York City, 86 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remaining were self-employed. Violence and other injuries by people or animals accounted for the greatest share of deaths for both groups.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

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. during the 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.

Acknowledgments. The Bureau of Labor Statistics appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that submitted source documents used to identify fatal work injuries, in particular the New York City government.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, New York City, 2011(p)

Event or exposure(1)	Number	Percent
Total	71	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	24	34
Intentional injury by person	24	34
Intentional injury by other person	16	23
Shooting by other person--intentional	12	17
Self-inflicted injury--intentional	8	11
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation--intentional self-harm	4	6
Transportation incidents	13	18
Pedestrian vehicular incident	7	10
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	3	4
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	4	6
Falls, slips, trips	15	21
Falls on same level	3	4
Falls to lower level	12	17
Other fall to lower level	10	14
Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet	6	8
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	6	8
Exposure to other harmful substances	3	4
Contact with objects and equipment	13	18
Struck by object or equipment	7	10
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	4	6
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	3	4
Caught in running equipment or machinery	3	4
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation	3	4
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	3	4
Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment	3	4
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward. (p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, New York City, 2010-2011

Industry(1)	2010	2011(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	68	71	100
Private industry	63	61	86
Construction	17	16	23
Construction of buildings	5	5	7
Residential building construction	3	4	6
Residential remodelers	--	3	4
Specialty trade contractors	11	8	11
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	--	5	7
Manufacturing	--	3	4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	21	17	24
Retail trade	8	7	10
Transportation and warehousing	7	8	11
Transit and ground passenger transportation	6	7	10
Taxi and limousine service	6	5	7
Taxi service	5	5	7
Financial activities	6	3	4
Professional and business services	3	8	11
Professional and technical services	--	3	4
Professional, scientific, and technical services	--	3	4
Administrative and waste services	--	5	7
Administrative and support services	--	4	6
Services to buildings and dwellings	--	3	4
Leisure and hospitality	4	7	10
Accommodation and food services	4	6	8
Food services and drinking places	4	5	7
Limited-service eating places	--	3	4
Limited-service restaurants	--	3	4
Other services, except public administration	3	6	8
Other services, except public administration	3	6	8
Personal and laundry services	--	4	6
Government(3)	5	10	14
Local government(4)	3	9	13
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Total may include other industries not shown. (2) Includes fatal injuries at all establishments categorized as Mining (Sector 21) in the North American Industry Classification System, including establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in Oil and Gas Extraction. (3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. Includes all fatal occupational injuries meeting this ownership criterion across all specified years, regardless of industry classification system. (4) Includes all fatal occupational injuries meeting this ownership criterion across all specified years, regardless of industry classification system. (p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, New York City, 2010-2011

Occupation(1)	2010	2011(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	68	71	100
Management occupations	8	4	6
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	--	--
Protective service occupations	--	6	8
Law enforcement workers	--	4	6
Police officers	--	3	4
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	--	3	4
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	7	5	7
Building cleaning and pest control workers	4	3	4
Building cleaning workers	4	3	4
Sales and related occupations	7	6	8
Supervisors of sales workers	5	3	4
First-line supervisors of sales workers	5	3	4
Retail sales workers	--	3	4
Construction and extraction occupations	14	18	25
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	3	4	6
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	3	4	6
Construction trades workers	10	9	13
Construction laborers	5	6	8
Other construction and related workers	--	4	6
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	--	3	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	16	17	24
Motor vehicle operators	11	11	15
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	5	5	7
Driver/sales workers	--	3	4
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	6	5	7
Material moving workers	4	5	7
Laborers and material movers, hand	--	4	6
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	--	4	6
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data for 2010 are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2000. Occupation data for 2011 are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. (p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, New York City, 2010-2011

Worker characteristics	2010	2011(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	68	71	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers(1)	53	61	86
Self-employed(2)	15	10	14
Gender
Men	67	65	92
Women	--	6	8
Age(3)
20 to 24 years	--	4	6
25 to 34 years	12	14	20
35 to 44 years	15	16	23
45 to 54 years	19	20	28
55 to 64 years	17	10	14
65 years and over	3	6	8
Race or ethnic origin(4)
White, non-Hispanic	27	29	41
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	14	18	25
Hispanic or Latino	17	17	24
Asian, non-Hispanic	10	7	10
Footnotes: (1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (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 Hispanic and Latino workers. (p) Data are preliminary. Revised and final 2011 data are scheduled to be released in Spring 2013.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Last Modified Date: December 5, 2012