Fatal work injuries totaled 85 in 2014 for New Jersey, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that while the 2014 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in New Jersey declined by 17 over the year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 145 in 1993 to a low of 81 in 2010. (See chart 1.)

A preliminary total of 4,679 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2014, up from the revised count of 4,585 fatal work injuries in 2013, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2014 CFOI data will be released in the late spring of 2016.

Of the 85 fatal work injuries reported in New Jersey in 2014, 35 resulted from transportation incidents and 24 from falls, slips, or trips. Together, these two major categories accounted for over two-thirds of all fatal work injuries reported in the state. (See table 1.) Other major event categories each reported 11 or fewer deaths. Within transportation incidents, roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles was the most frequent type of workplace fatality with 18 deaths, followed by pedestrian vehicular incidents with 13 deaths. In the falls, slips, or trips category, 19 of the 24 deaths occurred as a result of falls to lower levels. (Note that roadway incident counts presented in this release are expected to rise when updated 2014 data are released in the late spring of 2016 because key source documentation detailing specific transportation-related incidents has not yet been received.)

In the United States, transportation incidents were also the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2014, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. In New Jersey, transportation incidents accounted for a similar share of the state’s fatalities, 41 percent. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second most frequent type of event nationally, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities; the share in New Jersey was 28 percent. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 16 percent of the nation’s workplace fatalities, and contact with objects or equipment accounted for 15 percent, while in the state, these events were responsible for 13 and 12 percent of workplace fatalities, respectively.

Additional highlights:

• The construction industry had the largest number of fatalities in the state with 22, compared to 15 the previous year. Falls, slips, or trips accounted for 12 fatal work injuries in this industry. (See table 2.)
• Transportation and warehousing had the second highest fatality count with 19, followed by government with 11 worker deaths. Transportation incidents accounted for the largest number deaths in each of these industries.
• Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of fatal work injuries with 33. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 15 of these fatalities. (See table 3.)
• Men accounted for 78, or 92 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the state. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 42 percent of these fatalities.
• In New Jersey, 48 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics, and 35 percent were Hispanic or Latino. Nationwide, these groups accounted for 68 and 17 percent of work-related deaths, respectively.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 46, or 54 percent, of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2014. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 58 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• Of the 85 fatal work injuries in New Jersey, 80 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents. For the self-employed, falls, slips, or trips was the most frequent fatal event.

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 United States during the calendar year. The program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This ensures 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 at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.

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.

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.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, New Jersey, 2013–14

Event or exposure (1)	2013 (2)	2014 (p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	102	85	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	28	11	13
Intentional injury by person	27	9	11
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	16	5	6
Shooting by other person--intentional	15	5	6
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	11	4	5
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation--intentional self-harm	--	4	5
Transportation incidents	37	35	41
Pedestrian vehicular incident	11	13	15
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	6	5	6
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in roadway	5	5	6
Pedestrian struck by vehicle on side of road	--	4	5
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle on side of road	--	4	5
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	18	18	21
Roadway collision with other vehicle	12	12	14
Roadway collision--moving in same direction	5	4	5
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway	--	5	6
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle on side of roadway	3	1	1
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	6	4	5
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	5	4	5
Struck by shifting load during transport, roadway	--	1	1
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	4	3	4
Fires and explosions	--	3	4
Fires	--	3	4
Other structural fire without collapse	--	2	2
Falls, slips, trips	16	24	28
Falls on same level	4	5	6
Falls to lower level	11	19	22
Other fall to lower level	9	18	21
Other fall to lower level 6 to 10 feet	--	3	4
Other fall to lower level 11 to 15 feet	--	5	6
Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet	1	3	4
Other fall to lower level 21 to 25 feet	--	3	4
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	8	--	--
Contact with objects and equipment	11	10	12
Struck by object or equipment	11	6	7
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	3	3	4
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	--	4	5
Excavation or trenching cave-in	--	2	2
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward. (2) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016.
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. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication guidelines.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, New Jersey, 2013–14

Industry (1)	2013 (2)	2014 (p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	102	85	100
Private industry	93	74	87
Construction	15	22	26
Construction	15	22	26
Construction of buildings	--	3	4
Heavy and civil engineering construction	4	2	2
Specialty trade contractors	11	17	20
Manufacturing	5	6	7
Manufacturing	5	6	7
Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing	1	4	5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	42	28	33
Wholesale trade	5	3	4
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	1	1	1
Retail trade	14	6	7
Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers	1	1	1
Gasoline stations	5	1	1
General merchandise stores	2	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	21	19	22
Truck transportation	9	12	14
Transit and ground passenger transportation	3	5	6
Professional and business services	8	11	13
Professional and technical services	1	3	4
Professional, scientific, and technical services	1	3	4
Administrative and waste services	7	8	9
Administrative and support services	7	6	7
Other services, except public administration	7	2	2
Other services, except public administration	7	2	2
Repair and maintenance	3	1	1
Personal and laundry services	3	1	1
Government (3)	9	11	13
Local government	5	9	11
Footnotes: (1) Industry data for 2013 are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Industry data for 2014 are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012. (2) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016. (3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry.
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. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, New Jersey, 2013–14

Occupation (1)	2013 (2)	2014 (p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	102	85	100
Management occupations	3	3	4
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	1	1	1
Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers	1	1	1
Athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers	1	1	1
Coaches and scouts	--	1	1
Protective service occupations	4	6	7
Supervisors of protective service workers	--	2	2
First-line supervisors of fire fighting and prevention workers	--	2	2
Law enforcement workers	2	3	4
Police officers	1	3	4
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	1	3	4
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	7	7	8
Grounds maintenance workers	3	3	4
Grounds maintenance workers	3	3	4
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	--	1	1
Sales and related occupations	7	--	--
Supervisors of sales workers	6	1	1
First-line supervisors of sales workers	6	1	1
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	6	1	1
Construction and extraction occupations	11	21	25
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	3	4	5
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	3	4	5
Construction trades workers	8	14	16
Construction laborers	--	4	5
Construction equipment operators	--	1	1
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	--	1	1
Roofers	3	3	4
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	13	--	--
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	--	--	--
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	--	2	2
Production occupations	3	3	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	41	33	39
Supervisors, transportation and material moving workers	--	4	5
Motor vehicle operators	23	22	26
Bus drivers	--	1	1
Bus drivers, school or special client	--	1	1
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	19	17	20
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	13	15	18
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	3	3	4
Other transportation workers	5	1	1
Material moving workers	9	6	7
Dredge, excavating, and loading machine operators	--	1	1
Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators	--	1	1
Laborers and material movers, hand	5	4	5
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. (2) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016.
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. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, New Jersey, 2013–14

Worker characteristics	2013 (1)	2014 (p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	102	85	100
Employee status
Wage and salary (2)	76	68	80
Self-employed (3)	26	17	20
Gender
Men	97	78	92
Women	5	7	8
Age (4)
20 to 24 years	7	9	11
25 to 34 years	15	10	12
35 to 44 years	22	15	18
45 to 54 years	24	21	25
55 to 64 years	22	19	22
65 years and over	11	11	13
Race or ethnic origin (5)
White, non-Hispanic	54	41	48
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	19	10	12
Hispanic or Latino	20	30	35
Asian, non-Hispanic	9	3	4
Footnotes: (1) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016. (2) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (3) 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. (4) Information may not be available for all age groups. (5) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers.
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. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.