Fatal work injuries totaled 172 in 2015 for Illinois, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Illinois was up from 164 in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 262 in 1996 to a low of 146 in 2012. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 4,836 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2015, a slight increase from the 4,821 fatal injuries in 2014, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Illinois, transportation incidents resulted in 59 fatal work injuries and falls, trips, or slips accounted for 33 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 53 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents remained the same over the year and worker fatalities due to falls, trips, or slips were little changed.

Contact with objects or equipment was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 29 fatalities, little changed from the prior year. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in 27 work-related deaths compared to 31 in 2014.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2015, accounting for approximately 42 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent type of event (17 percent), followed by contact with objects and equipment (15 percent) and violence and other injuries by persons or animals (15 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in Illinois with 38, up from 28 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, and trips was the most frequent fatal event in the construction sector with 12 worker deaths, followed by contact with objects and equipment with 10 fatalities. Seventy-one percent those fatally injured in this sector worked in specialty trade contracting.

The private transportation and warehousing sector had 22 workplace fatalities, down from 33 in the previous year. General freight trucking accounted for eight, or 36 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

Construction and extraction occupations and transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 39 and 34, respectively. (See table 3.) The majority of the fatalities within the construction and extraction group were construction trades workers (35). Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 16 of the 34 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 94 percent of the work-related fatalities in Illinois, similar to the national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 35 percent of the fatalities for men in Illinois.
• White non-Hispanics accounted for 71 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 55 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2015, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 172 fatal work injuries in Illinois, 77 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for both groups of workers was transportation incidents.

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 Illinois Department of Public 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 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, Illinois, 2014–15

Event or exposure (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	164	172	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	31	27	16
Intentional injury by person	27	26	15
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	19	18	10
Shooting by other person--intentional	13	14	8
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	8	8	5
Transportation incidents	59	59	34
Aircraft incidents	2	5	3
Pedestrian vehicular incident	8	7	4
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	3	5	3
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	34	29	17
Roadway collision with other vehicle	20	20	12
Roadway collision--moving in same direction	6	10	6
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	7	6	3
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	9	5	3
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	8	5	3
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	9	16	9
Nonroadway noncollision incident	8	12	7
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	7	8	5
Fires and explosions	--	5	3
Falls, slips, trips	30	33	19
Falls on same level	5	7	4
Falls to lower level	24	23	13
Other fall to lower level	19	20	12
Other fall to lower level 21 to 25 feet	--	1	1
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	11	19	11
Exposure to electricity	4	9	5
Direct exposure to electricity	4	6	3
Direct exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts	--	5	3
Exposure to other harmful substances	5	7	4
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose	--	7	4
Contact with objects and equipment	31	29	17
Struck by object or equipment	21	22	13
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	10	13	8
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	8	9	5
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 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Illinois, 2014–15

Industry (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	164	172	100
Private industry	153	154	90
Natural resources and mining	27	19	11
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	26	16	9
Crop production	18	11	6
Animal production and aquaculture	4	--	--
Construction	28	38	22
Construction	28	38	22
Construction of buildings	6	6	3
Specialty trade contractors	18	27	16
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	9	11	6
Roofing contractors	7	5	3
Building equipment contractors	5	10	6
Electrical contractors	4	8	5
Manufacturing	13	12	7
Manufacturing	13	12	7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	55	44	26
Wholesale trade	12	10	6
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	10	5	3
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	2	5	3
Retail trade	10	11	6
Transportation and warehousing	33	22	13
Truck transportation	19	12	7
General freight trucking	8	8	5
Information	--	1	1
Financial activities	8	1	1
Professional and business services	9	14	8
Administrative and waste services	6	11	6
Administrative and support services	5	9	5
Services to buildings and dwellings	3	6	3
Educational and health services	3	2	1
Leisure and hospitality	7	14	8
Accommodation and food services	4	10	6
Food services and drinking places	4	9	5
Restaurants and other eating places	3	7	4
Restaurants and other eating places	3	7	4
Full-service restaurants	--	5	3
Other services, except public administration	2	9	5
Other services, except public administration	2	9	5
Repair and maintenance	2	6	3
Government (2)	11	18	10
Federal government	1	1	1
State government	2	5	3
Local government	8	12	7
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 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Illinois, 2014–15

Occupation (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	164	172	100
Management occupations	28	21	12
Other management occupations	24	16	9
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	20	11	6
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	20	11	6
Business and financial operations occupations	--	1	1
Architecture and engineering occupations	1	3	2
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	3	4	2
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	1	3	2
Protective service occupations	3	10	6
Food preparation and serving related occupations	--	4	2
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	2	9	5
Grounds maintenance workers	2	5	3
Grounds maintenance workers	2	5	3
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	1	5	3
Personal care and service occupations	--	2	1
Sales and related occupations	11	9	5
Supervisors of sales workers	4	5	3
First-line supervisors of sales workers	4	5	3
Office and administrative support occupations	4	3	2
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	5	6	3
Construction and extraction occupations	29	39	23
Construction trades workers	23	35	20
Construction laborers	5	12	7
Construction laborers	5	12	7
Electricians	3	6	3
Electricians	3	6	3
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	11	10	6
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	7	5	3
Production occupations	9	12	7
Supervisors of production workers	--	5	3
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	--	5	3
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	--	5	3
Transportation and material moving occupations	53	34	20
Motor vehicle operators	37	24	14
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	32	20	12
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	25	16	9
Material moving workers	10	8	5
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 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Illinois, 2014–15

Worker characteristics	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	164	172	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	121	132	77
Self-employed (2)	43	40	23
Gender
Men	145	162	94
Women	19	10	6
Age (3)
Under 16 years	--	1	1
16 to 17 years	1	--	--
18 to 19 years	2	2	1
20 to 24 years	9	15	9
25 to 34 years	18	19	11
35 to 44 years	32	31	18
45 to 54 years	47	44	26
55 to 64 years	34	33	19
65 years and over	21	27	16
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	128	122	71
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	17	24	14
Hispanic or Latino	16	19	11
American Indian or Alaskan Native, non-Hispanic	--	--	--
Asian, non-Hispanic	3	6	3
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic	--	--	--
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.