Fatal work injuries totaled 72 in 2014 for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. Metropolitan Statistical Area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the 2014 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in the Philadelphia metropolitan area increased by nine over the year. Fatal occupational injuries in the metropolitan area have ranged from a high of 93 in 2004 and 2007 to a low of 63 in 2013. (See chart 1.)

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

 

In 2014, the Philadelphia area had the sixth-largest population nationally[1] and placed sixth in the number of work-related fatalities among the 10 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States. (See chart 2.) The most populated metropolitan area in the country—New York—had the highest number of workplace fatalities (168) in 2014. The smallest of the 10 metropolitan areas—Boston—had the lowest fatality count with 37 deaths.

Of the 72 fatal work injuries reported in the Philadelphia metropolitan area in 2014, 23 resulted from transportation incidents. Thirteen of these transportation incidents were roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles and five were pedestrian vehicular incidents. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal event in 7 of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in 2014, including Philadelphia. In the Washington, D.C., area, transportation incidents was tied with violence and other injuries by persons or animals for the most frequent fatal event. (See table 1.) The Philadelphia area had the third-highest share of work-related deaths from transportation incidents (32 percent), led only by Boston (38 percent) and Atlanta (34 percent). (Note that roadway incident counts 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.)

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent cause of workplace deaths in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, responsible for 22 percent of total fatalities. Eleven of the 16 fatalities in this category were suicides. Dallas tied Philadelphia’s 22-percent share of workplace fatalities due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals, and only two other areas had lower shares: Houston (21 percent) and Miami (18 percent).

Falls, slips, or trips was the third-most frequent fatal event in Philadelphia in 2014, resulting in 21 percent of all workplace fatalities. Fourteen of these 15 fatalities were a result of falls to a lower level. Philadelphia’s share of total fatalities due to falls, slips, or trips ranked sixth highest of the 10 largest metropolitan areas.

In the United States, transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2014, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 3.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent event nationally, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 16 percent of the nation’s workplace fatalities and contact with objects and equipment accounted for 15 percent.

 

Additional highlights:

• Within private industry, the construction sector had the largest number of fatalities in the Philadelphia area in 2014 with 20, up from 11 the previous year. (See table 3.) Nine of these worker deaths in 2014 were due to falls, slips, or trips, six were due to transportation incidents, and two were due to exposure to harmful substances or environments.
• Within private industry, the administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector had the second-highest fatality count with 10, up from the 7 reported in 2013. Falls, slips, or trips accounted for four worker deaths and transportation incidents accounted for three deaths in this sector.
• Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of fatal work injuries with 18, followed by construction and extraction occupations with 17. (See table 4.)
• Men accounted for 90 percent of the work-related fatalities in the metropolitan area. (See table 5.) Transportation incidents made up 34 percent of these fatalities. Nationally, men accounted for 92 percent of all fatalities.
• In Philadelphia, 60 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics and 21 percent were Hispanic or Latino. Nationally, these groups accounted for 68 percent and 17 percent of work-related deaths, respectively.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 53 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2014. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 58 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• Of the 72 people that had fatal work injuries in Philadelphia, 85 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents, while falls, slips, or trips caused the most worker fatalities for the self-employed.
• Thirty-six percent (26 fatalities) of work-related fatalities occurred after 12:00 p.m. and before 4:00 p.m. in Philadelphia in 2014. The hour with the most fatalities (8) was 12:00 p.m. to 12:59 p.m.
• Nineteen workplace fatalities occurred on Tuesday in Philadelphia in 2014; Thursday and Friday followed with 13 fatalities on each day. Nationwide, Tuesday was also the day with the highest number of workplace fatalities in 2014.
• In 2011, CFOI began identifying if a fatally-injured worker was working as a contractor and recording the industry of both the worker and the contracting firm. A contractor is defined as a worker employed by one firm but working at the behest of another firm that exercises overall responsibility for the operations at the site of the fatal injury. In 2014, the Philadelphia area had 12 fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria; 3 of these deaths were in the private construction industry and 3 occurred in government.

¹ Metropolitan area populations based on 2011 estimates from the Census Bureau.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI 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 and definitions for CFOI, 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. BLS thanks the Pennsylvania Department of Health; New Jersey Department of Health; Delaware Department of Labor; and Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation 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 provided source documents used to identify fatal work injuries.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, dated February 2013. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of the Camden, N.J. Metropolitan Division (MD); the Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, Pa. Metropolitan Division (MD); the Philadelphia, Pa. Metropolitan Division (MD); and the Wilmington, Del.-Md.-N.J. Metropolitan Division (MD).

The Camden, N.J. MD is composed of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey.

The Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, Pa. MD consists of Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia, Pa. MD consists of Delaware and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania.
The Wilmington, Del.-Md.-N.J. MD consists of New Castle County in Delaware, Cecil County in Maryland, and Salem County in New Jersey.

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 selected event groups in the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the United States in 2014

Metropolitan Areas(1)	Total fatalities(2)	Transportation incidents	Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	Falls, slips, trips	Exposure to harmful substances or environments	Contact with objects and equipment
United States(3)	4,679	1,891	749	793	390	708
New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.	168	51	39	40	10	21
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas	96	23	20	17	13	18
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.	88	23	24	23	-	15
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	77	24	17	14	6	11
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.	75	19	21	19	9	6
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.	72	23	16	15	7	7
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.	68	23	21	17	-	5
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.	61	17	11	14	14	5
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.	56	16	16	9	4	11
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.	37	14	11	7	-	2
Footnotes: (1) Metropolitan areas used in this table are Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) based on definitions from the Office of Management and Budget Bulletin Number 13-01, February 2013. (2) Data are based on a preliminary total of 4,679 fatal work injuries nationwide for 2014. (3) Also includes fatalities occurring in nonmetropolitan areas.
NOTE: Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2013-14

Event or exposure(1)	2013(2)	2014(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	63	72	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	16	16	22
Intentional injury by person	16	14	19
Homicides	9	3	4
Shooting by other person—intentional	7	2	3
Hitting, kicking, beating, shoving	1	1	1
Suicides	7	11	15
Shooting—intentional self-harm	-	4	6
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation—intentional self-harm	3	4	6
Injury by person—unintentional or intent unknown	-	2	3
Injury by other person—unintentional or intent unknown	-	2	3
Shooting by other person—unintentional	-	1	1
Injured by physical contact with person while restraining, subduing—unintentional	-	1	1
Transportation incidents	20	23	32
Aircraft incidents	-	1	1
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	-	1	1
Pedestrian vehicular incident	8	5	7
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in work zone	4	2	3
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in work zone	2	2	3
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	-	2	3
Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in nonroadway area	-	2	3
Water vehicle incident	-	-	-
Capsized or sinking water vehicle	-	1	1
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	8	13	18
Roadway collision with other vehicle	6	7	10
Roadway collision moving in the same direction	-	3	4
Roadway collision moving in opposite directions, oncoming	-	1	1
Roadway collision moving and standing vehicle on side of roadway	-	1	1
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	-	6	8
Vehicle stuck object or animal on side of roadway	-	6	8
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	3	-	-
Nonroadway noncollision incident	-	1	1
Fire or explosion	2	4	6
Fire	2	4	6
Other structural fire without collapse	-	1	1
Ignition of vapors, gases, or liquids	-	2	3
Fall, slip, trip	13	15	21
Fall to lower level	11	14	19
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment	2	1	1
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment 16 to 20 feet	-	1	1
Other fall to lower level	8	11	15
Other fall to lower level 21 to 25 feet	-	1	1
Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet	1	3	4
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	5	7	10
Exposure to electricity	3	2	3
Indirect exposure to electricity	-	2	3
Indirect exposure to electricity, 220 volts or less	-	1	1
Indirect exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts	-	1	1
Exposure to other harmful substances	-	5	7
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol unintentional overdose	-	4	6
Contact with objects and equipment	7	7	10
Struck by object or equipment	4	5	7
Struck by powered vehicle nontransport	1	2	3
Struck by other falling powered vehicle	-	2	3
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	3	2	3
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure or equipment	2	1	1
Engulfment in other collapsing material	-	1	1
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. 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.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2013-14

Industry(1)	2013(2)	2014(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	63	72	100
Private industry	58	64	89
Goods-producing	18	26	36
Natural resources and mining	3	1	1
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	3	1	1
Crop production	3	1	1
Oilseed and grain farming	1	1	1
Construction	11	20	28
Heavy and civil engineering construction	4	4	6
Utility system construction	-	1	1
Water and sewer line and related structures construction	-	1	1
Other heavy and civil engineering construction	-	1	1
Specialty trade contractors	6	14	19
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	3	5	7
Roofing contractors	3	2	3
Residential roofing contractors	1	1	1
Nonresidential roofing contractors	-	1	1
Building equipment contractors	-	4	6
Electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors	-	4	6
Nonresidential electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors	-	2	3
Building finishing contractors	-	-	-
Drywall and insulation contractors	-	1	1
Nonresidential drywall and insulation contractors	-	1	1
Other specialty trade contractors	1	3	4
Site preparation contractors	1	3	4
Manufacturing	4	5	7
Plastics and rubber products manufacturing	-	1	1
Plastics product manufacturing	-	1	1
Other plastics product manufacturing	-	1	1
Service-providing	40	38	53
Trade, transportation, and utilities	23	15	21
Retail trade	12	5	7
Food and beverage stores	2	2	3
Grocery stores	1	1	1
Convenience stores	1	1	1
Beer, wine, and liquor stores	-	1	1
Beer, wine, and liquor stores	-	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	9	9	13
Truck transportation	-	5	7
General freight trucking	-	2	3
General freight trucking, long-distance	-	2	3
General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload	-	1	1
Specialized freight trucking	-	3	4
Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, local	-	1	1
Transit and ground passenger transportation	2	2	3
Taxi and limousine service	2	1	1
Taxi service	2	1	1
School and employee bus transportation	-	1	1
School and employee bus transportation	-	1	1
Scenic and sightseeing transportation	-	1	1
Scenic and sightseeing transportation, other	-	1	1
Information	-	-	-
Telecommunications	-	1	1
Wired telecommunications carriers	-	1	1
Wired telecommunications carriers	-	1	1
Financial activities	3	-	-
Real estate and rental and leasing	3	-	-
Real estate	3	-	-
Lessors of real estate	1	-	-
Lessors of miniwarehouses and self-storage units	-	1	1
Professional and business services	7	12	17
Professional, scientific, and technical services	-	-	-
Professional, scientific, and technical services	-	-	-
Scientific research and development services	-	1	1
Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences	-	1	1
Research and development in biotechnology	-	1	1
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	7	10	14
Administrative and support services	5	9	13
Travel arrangement and reservation services	-	1	1
Travel agencies	-	1	1
Services to buildings and dwellings	3	6	8
Landscaping services	3	4	6
Educational and health services	3	1	1
Health care and social assistance	2	1	1
Hospitals	-	1	1
General medical and surgical hospitals	-	1	1
General medical and surgical hospitals	-	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	2	4	6
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	1	-	-
Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions	-	1	1
Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions	-	1	1
Zoos and botanical gardens	-	1	1
Accommodation and food services	1	2	3
Food services and drinking places	-	2	3
Special food services	-	2	3
Mobile food services	-	2	3
Other services, except public administration	-	-	-
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations	-	1	1
Religious organizations	-	1	1
Religious organizations	-	1	1
Government(3)	5	8	11
State government	1	3	4
Goods-producing	-	1	1
Construction	-	1	1
Heavy and civil engineering construction	-	1	1
Highway, street, and bridge construction	-	1	1
Highway, street, and bridge construction	-	1	1
Service-providing	1	2	3
Leisure and hospitality	-	1	1
Accommodation and food services	-	1	1
Accommodation	-	1	1
Travel accommodation	-	1	1
Hotels (except casino hotels) and motels	-	1	1
Public administration	-	1	1
Justice, public order, and safety activities	-	1	1
Justice, public order, and safety activities	-	1	1
Police Protection	-	1	1
Local government	4	5	7
Service-providing	4	5	7
Public administration	2	4	6
Justice, public order, and safety activities	2	4	6
Justice, public order, and safety activities	2	4	6
Police Protection	-	3	4
Fire protection	2	1	1
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. (3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. (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. 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.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2013-14

Occupation(1)	2013(2)	2014(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	63	72	100
Management, business, science, and arts occupations	7	5	7
Management, business, and financial occupations	4	3	4
Management occupations	4	-	-
Other management occupations	4	-	-
Agricultural managers	3	1	1
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	3	1	1
Professional and related occupations	3	2	3
Computer, engineering, and science occupations	1	1	1
Life, physical, and social science occupations	-	1	1
Physical scientists	-	1	1
Chemists and materials scientists	-	1	1
Chemists	-	1	1
Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations	1	1	1
Community and social services occupations	-	1	1
Counselors, social workers, and other community and social service specialists	-	1	1
Social Workers	-	1	1
Mental health and substance abuse social workers	-	1	1
Service occupations	7	19	26
Protective service occupations	2	8	11
First-line supervisors/managers, protective services workers	2	1	1
First-line supervisors/managers, law enforcement workers	-	1	1
First-line supervisors of police and detectives	-	1	1
Fire fighting and prevention workers	-	1	1
Firefighters	-	1	1
Firefighters	-	1	1
Law enforcement workers	-	3	4
Police officers	-	3	4
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	-	3	4
Other protective service workers	-	3	4
Food preparation and serving related occupations	1	2	3
Supervisors, food preparation and serving workers	-	1	1
First-line supervisors/managers, food preparation and serving workers	-	1	1
Chefs and head cooks	-	1	1
Food and beverage serving workers	-	1	1
Fast food and counter workers	-	1	1
Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop	-	1	1
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	4	8	11
Grounds maintenance workers	-	6	8
Grounds maintenance workers	-	6	8
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	-	4	6
Sales and office occupations	9	6	8
Sales and related occupations	7	3	4
Supervisors, sales workers	4	1	1
First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers	4	1	1
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	4	1	1
Office and administrative support occupations	-	3	4
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	18	21	29
Construction and extraction occupations	13	17	24
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	4	3	4
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers	4	3	4
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	4	3	4
Construction trades workers	8	14	19
Construction laborers	1	3	4
Construction laborers	1	3	4
Construction equipment operators	-	1	1
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	-	1	1
Electricians	3	3	4
Electricians	3	3	4
Roofers	3	2	3
Roofers	3	2	3
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	4	6
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	-	-	-
Small engine mechanics	-	1	1
Outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics	-	1	1
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4	-	-
Line installers and repairers	1	1	1
Telecommunications line installers and repairers	-	1	1
Production, transportation, and material occupations	22	21	29
Production occupations	3	3	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	19	18	25
Air transportation workers	-	1	1
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	-	1	1
Commercial pilots	-	1	1
Motor vehicle operators	10	11	15
Bus drivers	-	1	1
Bus drivers, school or special client	-	1	1
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	6	8	11
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	4	7	10
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	3	2	3
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	3	2	3
Material moving workers	7	4	6
Dredge, excavating, and loading machine operators	-	1	1
Dredge operators	-	1	1
Laborers and material movers, hand	3	3	4
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. 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.

Table 5. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2013-14

Worker characteristics	2013(1)	2014(p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	63	72	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers(2)	53	61	85
Self-employed(3)	10	11	15
Gender
Women	3	7	10
Men	60	65	90
Age(4)
16 to 17 years	-	1	1
20 to 24 years	1	8	11
25 to 34 years	10	9	13
35 to 44 years	15	11	15
45 to 54 years	20	18	25
55 to 64 years	9	16	22
65 and over	8	9	13
Race or ethnic origin(5)
White (non-Hispanic)	43	43	60
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	10	11	15
Hispanic or Latino	5	15	21
Footnotes: (1) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (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. (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. 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.