Fatal work injuries totaled 82 in 2020 for New Jersey, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that the number of work-related fatalities in New Jersey was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 145 in 1993 to a low of 69 in 2017.

Nationwide, a total of 4,764 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2020, an 11-percent decrease from 5,333 in 2019, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). The 4,764 fatal occupational injuries in 2020 represents the lowest annual number since 2013.

Fatal event or exposure

In New Jersey, transportation incidents resulted in 24 fatal work injuries in 2020. Exposure to harmful substances or environments accounted for 19 fatalities, and falls, slips, trips accounted for 18. These three major categories accounted for 74 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were up by one over the year, while deaths resulting from exposure to harmful substances or environments and from falls, slips, trips were up by four and two, respectively.

Contact with objects and equipment was the next most frequent event with 12 worker deaths, up from 9 in the prior year.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2020, accounting for 37 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in New Jersey with 16, down from 18 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, and trips resulted in 7 of the industry’s 16 fatalities. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 11 of the 16 fatal workplace injuries in construction.

The next highest worker fatality totals among industry sectors were in administrative and support and waste remediation services (14) and transportation and warehousing (13).

Occupation

The construction and extraction occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 22, unchanged from the previous year. (See table 3.) Construction trades workers accounted for 17 of the 22 fatalities among construction and extraction workers. The transportation and material moving occupational group had the second highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 18. Within the transportation and material moving group, driver/sales workers and truck drivers had 14 deaths.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 93 percent of the work-related fatalities in New Jersey, similar to their national share. (See table 4.)
• White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 52 percent of New Jersey’s fatal injuries. Nationwide, this group accounted for 61 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 55-64 years old accounted for 27 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2020, compared to 22 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 82 worker deaths in New Jersey, 80 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, is a count of all fatalities resulting from workplace injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI uses a variety of 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 2020 national data, over 21,600 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI, see the BLS Handbook of Methods at https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm and the CFOI definitions at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm.

Federal/State agency coverage. The CFOI includes data for all fatal work injuries, some of which may be outside the scope of other agencies or regulatory coverage. Comparisons between CFOI counts and those released by other agencies should account for the different coverage requirements and definitions used by each agency. For more information on the scope of CFOI, see www.bls.gov/iif/cfoiscope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the New Jersey Department of Health 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.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, New Jersey, 2019–20

Event or exposure (1)	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	74	82	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	11	--	--
Transportation incidents	23	24	29
Pedestrian vehicular incident	--	5	6
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	10	11	13
Roadway collision with other vehicle	4	5	6
Roadway collision--moving in same direction	--	3	4
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	6	6	7
Fires and explosions	--	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	16	18	22
Falls on same level	3	4	5
Falls to lower level	13	14	17
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	15	19	23
Exposure to other harmful substances	10	13	16
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose	8	13	16
Contact with objects and equipment	9	12	15
Struck by object or equipment	--	9	11
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	--	3	4
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	--	3	4
Overexertion and bodily reaction	--	--	--
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. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, New Jersey, 2019–20

Industry (1)	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	74	82	100
Private industry (2)	72	73	89
Goods producing	--	--	--
Natural resources and mining	--	7	9
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	--	6	7
Crop production	--	3	4
Fishing, hunting and trapping	--	3	4
Fishing	--	3	4
Fishing	--	3	4
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (3)	--	1	1
Mining (except oil and gas)	--	1	1
Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying	--	1	1
Sand, gravel, clay, and ceramic and refractory minerals mining and quarrying	--	1	1
Construction	18	16	20
Construction	18	16	20
Specialty trade contractors	--	11	13
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	--	4	5
Other specialty trade contractors	--	3	4
Manufacturing	--	4	5
Manufacturing	--	4	5
Service providing (4)	--	--	--
Trade, transportation, and utilities	24	18	22
Wholesale trade	4	3	4
Transportation and warehousing	--	13	16
Truck transportation	--	10	12
Information	--	--	--
Financial activities	--	--	--
Professional and business services	--	--	--
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	12	14	17
Administrative and support services	--	11	13
Services to buildings and dwellings	--	8	10
Landscaping services	--	7	9
Waste management and remediation services	--	3	4
Educational and health services	--	3	4
Health care and social assistance	--	3	4
Leisure and hospitality	4	5	6
Accommodation and food services	4	5	6
Other services, except public administration	4	3	4
Other services, except public administration	4	3	4
Repair and maintenance	--	3	4
Automotive repair and maintenance	--	3	4
Government (5)	--	--	--
Federal government	--	--	--
State government	--	3	4
Local government	--	5	6
Footnotes: (1) CFOI has used several versions of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) since 2003 to define industry. For complete information on the version of NAICS used in this year, see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. (2) Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts. (3) Includes fatal injuries at all establishments categorized as Mining (Sector 21) in the North American Industry Classification System, including establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction. (4) Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts. (5) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. Cases classified as foreign government and other government are included in all government counts, but not displayed separately.
Note: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, New Jersey, 2019–20

Occupation (1)	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	74	82	100
Management occupations	4	3	4
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	3	--	--
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--	--
Community and social service occupations	--	--	--
Legal occupations	--	--	--
Educational instruction and library occupations	--	--	--
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	--	--
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	--	--
Healthcare support occupations	--	--	--
Protective service occupations	--	--	--
Food preparation and serving related occupations	3	--	--
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	5	9	11
Grounds maintenance workers	5	7	9
Grounds maintenance workers	5	7	9
Personal care and service occupations	--	--	--
Sales and related occupations	5	4	5
Office and administrative support occupations	--	3	4
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	--	5	6
Fishing and hunting workers	--	3	4
Fishing and hunting workers	--	3	4
Fishing and hunting workers	--	3	4
Construction and extraction occupations	22	22	27
Construction trades workers	19	17	21
Construction laborers	7	7	9
Construction laborers	7	7	9
Construction equipment operators	--	3	4
Roofers	--	3	4
Roofers	--	3	4
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	7	5	6
Production occupations	--	--	--
Transportation and material moving occupations	19	18	22
Motor vehicle operators	11	14	17
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	11	14	17
Footnotes: (1) CFOI has used several versions of the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) system since 2003 to define occupation. For complete information on the version of SOC used in this year, see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.
Note: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, New Jersey, 2019–20

Worker characteristics	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	74	82	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	56	66	80
Self-employed (2)	18	16	20
Gender
Men	69	76	93
Women	5	6	7
Age (3)
25 to 34 years	11	15	18
35 to 44 years	8	15	18
45 to 54 years	11	17	21
55 to 64 years	29	22	27
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	35	43	52
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	12	9	11
Hispanic or Latino	23	20	24
Footnotes: (1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. Cases where employment status is unknown are included in the counts of wage and salary workers. (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 data for Hispanics and Latinos. Cases where ethnicity is unknown are included in counts of non-Hispanic workers.
Note: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.