U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities
Bureau of Labor Statistics > Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities > Home

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) produces comprehensive, accurate, and timely counts of fatal work injuries. CFOI is a Federal-State cooperative program that has been implemented in all 50 States and the District of Columbia since 1992. To compile counts that are as complete as possible, the census uses multiple sources to identify, verify, and profile fatal worker injuries. Information about each workplace fatal injury—occupation and other worker characteristics, equipment involved, and circumstances of the event—is obtained by cross-referencing the source records, such as death certificates, workers' compensation reports, and Federal and State agency administrative reports. To ensure that fatal injuries are work-related, cases are substantiated with two or more independent source documents, or a source document and a follow-up questionnaire.

Data compiled by the CFOI program are issued annually for the preceding calendar year. These data are used by safety and health policy analysts and researchers to help prevent fatal work injuries by:

  • Informing workers of life threatening hazards associated with various jobs;
  • Promoting safer work practices through enhanced job safety training;
  • Assessing and improving workplace safety standards; and
  • Identifying new areas of safety research.

The National Safety Council adopted the CFOI figure beginning with the 1992 data year as the authoritative count for work-related deaths in the United States.

Publications and Documents

 

Last Modified Date: August 17, 2012