Fatal Work Injuries in the Philadelphia Area — 2016

Fatal work injuries totaled 52 in 2016 for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the number of work-related fatalities in the Philadelphia metropolitan area decreased by 18 from the previous year and reached its lowest level on record. Fatal occupational injuries in the metropolitan area have ranged from a high of 93 in 2004 and 2007 to a low of 52 in 2016. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 5,190 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2016, a 7-percent increase from the 4,836 fatal injuries reported in 2015, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. This was the third consecutive increase in annual workplace fatalities and the first time more than 5,000 fatalities have been recorded since 2008.

Chart 1. Total fatal occupational injuries, Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area, 2007-2016

In 2016, the Philadelphia area had the seventh-largest population nationally(1) and had the lowest number of work-related fatalities among the 10 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States. (See table 1 and chart 2.) The most populated metropolitan area in the country—New York—had the highest number of workplace fatalities (222) in 2016. The smallest of the 10 metropolitan areas—Boston—had the seventh-highest fatality count with 75 deaths.

Chart 2. Total fatal occupational injuries in the 10 largest metropolitan areas, 2016

Type of incident

In the Philadelphia metropolitan area, transportation incidents resulted in 21 fatal work injuries and falls, slips, or trips accounted for 14 fatalities during 2016. (See table 1 and table 2.) These two major categories accounted for 67 percent of all workplace fatalities in the Philadelphia area. The share of total fatalities due to transportation incidents in Philadelphia (40 percent) was the highest among the 10 largest areas in the nation. The Philadelphia area’s share of total fatalities due to falls, slips, or trips (27 percent) ranked second behind Houston (28 percent).

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the third-most frequent fatal work event in the Philadelphia area with 7 fatalities, a decrease of 10 fatalities from the 2015 total. The Philadelphia area’s 13-percent share in this category was the lowest among the 10 largest areas. Contact with objects and equipment resulted in six work-related deaths in the Philadelphia area (12 percent) and tied Miami and Los Angeles for the fifth-largest share.

Nationally, transportation incidents remained the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2016, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 3.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent type of event, with 17 percent of work-related fatalities, followed by falls, slips, or trips (16 percent) and contact with objects and equipment (15 percent).

Chart 3. Fatal occupational injuries by selected event, United States and Philadelphia metropolitan area, 2016

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in the Philadelphia area with 14, up from 12 the previous year. (See table 3.) Falls to a lower level was the most frequent fatal event in the construction sector with nine worker deaths. Eleven of those fatally injured in the construction sector worked in specialty trade contracting.

Government accounted for eight work-related fatalities, three more than the count for 2015. The most frequent fatal event for this group was violence and other injuries by persons or animals.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations and construction and extraction occupations had the highest numbers of workplace fatalities with 16 and 15, respectively. (See table 4.) Thirty-eight percent of the fatalities within the transportation and material moving group were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (6). Construction trades workers accounted for 13 of the 15 fatalities among construction and extraction workers, with 4 being roofers.

Contracted Workers

A contracted worker 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 2016, the Philadelphia area had eight fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contracted worker criteria; of those, half were the result of falls to a lower level.

Additional highlights

Men accounted for 90 percent of the work-related fatalities in the Philadelphia area, slightly lower than the 93-percent national share. (See table 5.) Transportation incidents made up 45 percent of the fatalities for men in the Philadelphia area. Among women, three of the five fatalities were a result of violence and other injuries by persons or animals.
White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 62 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.
Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 60 percent of the area’s work-related fatalities in 2016, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally. Workers 55 and older accounted for 37 percent of the Philadelphia area’s 2016 workplace fatalities, similar to the 36 percent rate for this group nationally.
Of the 52 fatally-injured workers in the Philadelphia area, 79 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. Transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers, while for the self-employed it was falls, slips, or trips.
Twenty-nine percent of workplace fatalities in the Philadelphia area occurred on the weekend (Saturday-Sunday), compared to 18 percent nationwide.

(1) Metropolitan area populations based on 2015 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 the 2015 data, over 21,400 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. 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. Among these agencies are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety and Health Administration; the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; state vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; state departments of health, labor, and industrial relations and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.

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 28, 2013. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of the Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division (MD); the Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA Metropolitan Division (MD); the Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division (MD); and the Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division (MD).

The Camden, NJ MD consists 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, DE-MD-NJ MD consists of New Castle County in Delaware, Cecil County in Maryland, and Salem County in New Jersey.

Information in this release is available to sensory-impaired individuals. 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 2016
Metropolitan Areas (1)	Total fatalities	Transportation incidents	Fall, slip, trip	Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	Contact with objects and equipment	Exposure to harmful substances or environments
United States (2)	5,190	2,083	849	866	761	518
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	222	62	57	42	34	23
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	115	35	32	19	13	15
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	109	27	25	34	13	7
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	105	31	28	29	10	7
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	93	32	20	16	13	9
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	92	26	21	14	11	15
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-NH	75	14	16	17	9	19
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	69	22	14	18	4	10
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	66	14	16	19	9	8
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	52	21	14	7	6	3
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) Also includes fatalities occurring in nonmetropolitan areas.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2015-2016
Event or exposure (1)	2015	2016
Event or exposure (1)	Number	Number	Percent
Total	70	52	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	17	7	13
Intentional injury by person	17	4	8
Homicides	12	4	8
Shooting by other person--intentional	9	3	6
Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing	2	1	2
Injury by person--unintentional or intent unknown	-	3	6
Injury by other person--unintentional or intent unknown	-	3	6
Transportation incidents	22	21	40
Rail vehicle incidents	3	2	4
Rail vehicle collision	-	1	2
Collision between rail and roadway vehicles	-	1	2
Pedestrian struck by rail vehicle--transportation incident	-	1	2
Animal and other non-motorized vehicle transportation incidents	-	1	2
Animal transportation incident	-	1	2
Thrown, fell, or jumped from animal being ridden	-	1	2
Pedestrian vehicular incident	5	8	15
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	-	3	6
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in roadway	-	3	6
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	3	4	8
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in nonroadway area	-	1	2
Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in nonroadway area	2	3	6
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	13	9	17
Roadway collision with other vehicle	9	5	10
Roadway collision moving in same direction	-	4	8
Roadway collision moving perpendicularly	-	1	2
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	3	3	6
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	3	3	6
Roadway noncollision incident	1	1	2
Fall or jump from and struck by same vehicle in normal operation, roadway	-	1	2
Fire or explosion	-	1	2
Explosion	-	1	2
Explosion of pressure vessel, piping, or tire	-	1	2
Fall, slip, trip	13	14	27
Fall on same level	-	-	-
Fall on same level due to tripping	-	1	2
Fall on same level due to tripping on uneven surface	-	1	2
Fall to lower level	11	11	21
Fall through surface or existing opening	-	3	6
Other fall to lower level	6	8	15
Jump to lower level	-	1	2
Jump from collapsing structure or equipment	-	1	2
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	7	3	6
Contact with objects and equipment	10	6	12
Struck by object or equipment	7	5	10
Struck by falling object or equipment	4	4	8
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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 industry, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2015-2016
Industry (1)	2015	2016
Industry (1)	Number	Number	Percent
Total	70	52	100
Private industry	65	44	85
Goods-producing	25	19	37
Construction	12	14	27
Construction of buildings	-	3	6
Specialty trade contractors	8	11	21
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	4	7	13
Roofing contractors	-	5	10
Other specialty trade contractors	-	2	4
Site preparation contractors	-	1	2
Nonresidential site preparation contractors	-	1	2
All other specialty trade contractors	-	1	2
Manufacturing	12	4	8
Service-providing	40	25	48
Trade, transportation, and utilities	17	11	21
Retail trade	3	3	6
Motor vehicle and parts dealers	-	1	2
Automobile dealers	-	1	2
New car dealers	-	1	2
Food and beverage stores	1	1	2
Grocery stores	1	1	2
Supermarkets and other grocery (except convenience) stores	-	1	2
Nonstore retailers	-	1	2
Electronic shopping and mail-order houses	-	1	2
Electronic shopping and mail-order houses	-	1	2
Electronic shopping	-	1	2
Transportation and warehousing	7	6	12
Truck transportation	5	3	6
General freight trucking	4	3	6
General freight trucking, long-distance	4	3	6
Financial activities	-	1	2
Real estate and rental and leasing	-	1	2
Rental and leasing services	-	1	2
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental and leasing	-	1	2
Construction, transportation, mining, and forestry machinery and equipment rental and leasing	-	1	2
Construction, mining, and forestry machinery and equipment rental and leasing	-	1	2
Professional and business services	11	6	12
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	9	5	10
Waste management and remediation services	1	4	8
Waste collection	-	3	6
Waste collection	-	3	6
Educational and health services	4	1	2
Health care and social assistance	2	1	2
Social assistance	1	1	2
Community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services	-	1	2
Community housing services	-	1	2
Temporary shelters	-	1	2
Leisure and hospitality	-	2	4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	-	1	2
Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries	-	1	2
Spectator sports	-	1	2
Spectator sports	-	1	2
Accommodation and food services	-	1	2
Food services and drinking places	-	1	2
Restaurants and other eating places	-	1	2
Restaurants and other eating places	-	1	2
Full-service restaurants	-	1	2
Other services, except public administration	4	3	6
Repair and maintenance	4	3	6
Automotive repair and maintenance	3	-	-
Other automotive repair and maintenance	1	1	2
Car washes	1	1	2
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment (except automotive and electronic) repair and maintenance	-	1	2
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment (except automotive and electronic) repair and maintenance	-	1	2
Government (2)	5	8	15
Federal government	2	2	4
Goods producing	-	2	4
Construction	-	2	4
Heavy and civil engineering construction	-	2	4
Other heavy and civil engineering construction	-	2	4
Local government	2	4	8
Service-providing	2	4	8
Educational and health services	-	1	2
Educational services	-	1	2
Educational services	-	1	2
Elementary and secondary schools	-	1	2
Elementary and secondary schools	-	1	2
Public administration	1	3	6
Justice, public order, and safety activities	1	3	6
Justice, public order, and safety activities	1	3	6
Fire protection	-	3	6
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012. (2) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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 occupation, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2015-2016
Occupation (1)	2015	2016
Occupation (1)	Number	Number	Percent
Total	70	52	100
Professional and related occupations	7	1	2
Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations	1	1	2
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	1	1	2
Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers	-	1	2
Athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers	-	1	2
Athletes and sports competitors	-	1	2
Service occupations	11	7	13
Protective service occupations	4	5	10
First-line supervisors/managers, protective service workers	-	1	2
First-line supervisors of fire fighting and prevention workers	-	1	2
First-line supervisors of fire fighting and prevention workers	-	1	2
Fire fighting and prevention workers	-	2	4
Firefighters	-	2	4
Firefighters	-	2	4
Law enforcement workers	2	-	-
Bailiffs, correctional officers, and jailers	-	1	2
Correctional officers and jailers	-	1	2
Food preparation and serving related occupations	-	1	2
Cooks	-	1	2
Cooks	-	1	2
Cooks, restaurant	-	1	2
Personal care and service occupations	-	1	2
Other personal care and service workers	-	1	2
Residential advisors	-	1	2
Residential advisors	-	1	2
Sales and office occupations	2	2	4
Sales and related occupations	2	2	4
Supervisors, sales workers	-	1	2
First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers	-	1	2
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	-	1	2
Other sales and related workers	-	1	2
Miscellaneous sales and related workers	-	1	2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	20	20	38
Construction and extraction occupations	13	15	29
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	-	2	4
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers	-	2	4
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	-	2	4
Construction trades workers	11	13	25
Boilermakers	-	1	2
Boilermakers	-	1	2
Roofers	-	4	8
Roofers	-	4	-
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	6	5	10
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	-	-	-
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	-	1	2
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	-	1	2
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	3	6
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers	-	1	2
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers	-	1	2
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	23	20	38
Production occupations	5	4	8
Transportation and material moving occupations	18	16	31
Motor vehicle operators	12	9	17
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	10	9	17
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	6	6	12
Material moving workers	4	7	13
Dredge, excavating, and loading machine operators	-	1	2
Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators	-	1	2
Industrial truck and tractor operators	-	4	8
Industrial truck and tractor operators	-	4	8
Laborers and material movers, hand	3	1	2
Cleaners of vehicles and equipment	1	1	2
Refuse and recyclable material collectors	-	1	2
Refuse and recyclable material collectors	-	1	2
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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 5. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2015-2016
Worker characteristics	2015	2016
Worker characteristics	Number	Number	Percent
Total	70	52	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	64	41	79
Self-employed (2)	6	11	21
Gender
Women	2	5	10
Men	68	47	90
Age (3)
18 to 19 years	-	1	2
25 to 34 years	13	9	17
35 to 44 years	19	13	25
45 to 54 years	11	9	17
55 to 64 years	17	12	23
65 years and over	6	7	13
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White (non-Hispanic)	42	32	62
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	13	13	25
Hispanic or Latino	13	3	6
Asian (non-Hispanic)	-	4	8
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.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. 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.

Last Modified Date: Thursday, April 19, 2018

Mid-Atlantic Information Office

Fatal Work Injuries in the Philadelphia Area — 2016