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Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities

Fatal Occupational Injuries Incurred by Hispanic or Latino Workers in 2015


Hispanic or Latino Workers1

Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 19 percent of all fatal occupational injuries in the United States in 2015. Fatal injuries incurred by Hispanic or Latino workers were 12 percent higher in 2015 than in the previous year, rising to 903 fatalities from 804 in 2014. The fatal injury rate also increased to 4.0 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers in 2015 from 3.7 per 100,000 FTE workers in 2014.

Event or Exposure

As the chart shows, transportation incidents accounted for the highest percentage of fatal occupational injuries for all workers and for Hispanic or Latino workers in 2015. However, transportation incidents accounted for a higher proportion of fatal injuries for all workers (42 percent) than for Hispanic or Latino workers (36 percent). Conversely, Hispanic or Latino workers had a higher percentage of fatal injuries due to falls, slips, or trips, 23 percent, compared with 17 percent for all workers.

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Occupation

Hispanic or Latino workers that incurred a work-related fatality were represented in the majority of the occupational groups in 2015. The three largest of these occupational groups represented almost 65 percent of the total among Hispanics or Latinos.

Hispanics or Latinos compared to all worker fatalities by select occupational group, 2015
Major Occupation GroupNumber of Hispanic or Latino FatalitiesNumber of All Worker Fatalities

Construction and extraction

290924

    Construction trades workers

243694

    Supervisors of construction and extraction workers

19123

Transportation and materials moving

2021,301

    Motor vehicle operators

141978

Farming, fishing, and forestry

93284

    Agricultural workers

86180

Agricultural workers accounted for 86 of the 93 fatal injuries among Hispanic or Latino farming, fishing, and forestry workers. Nearly half of the 180 fatal injuries among all agricultural workers in 2015 were incurred by Hispanics or Latinos.

Foreign born and native born

Hispanic or Latino workers include both U.S. natives (those born in the United States) and those born in other countries. In 2015, foreign-born Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 605 fatal work injuries, or 67 percent, of the 903 overall fatal work injuries to Hispanic or Latino workers. Foreign-born Hispanics or Latinos also accounted for nearly two-thirds (605 fatalities) of the 943 total foreign-born worker fatalities.

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Most foreign-born Hispanics who incurred fatal work injuries were born in Mexico (68 percent, or 411 fatalities). Following Mexico, Central America accounted for the second highest share of fatalities among Hispanics or Latinos at 17 percent. The Caribbean and South America each shared 7 percent, and Europe was less than 1 percent.

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The "All Other" category includes countries with unpublishable data counts, and those countries are not shown separately. Nearly all the cases in the "All Other" category were workers born in Central and South America or the Caribbean; they accounted for 2 percent of total foreign-born Hispanic or Latino fatalities.

Background Information

For technical information and definitions, please see the BLS Handbook of Methods at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/home.htm.

You can obtain data from the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program by using the following tools: Create Customized Tables (Multiple Screens), Create Customized Tables (Single Screen), and the Online Profiles System. Additional tables and charts are on the IIF homepage and the IIF State page.

For more detailed information on fatal injuries by race or ethnic origin, see the data table for Hispanic or Latino workers as well as the foreign-born workers table and foreign-born Hispanic or Latino workers table. You can also find Hispanic or Latino fatal injury rates for other years here.

 

Notes

1 Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.

 

Last Modified Date: July 24, 2017