Fatal work injuries totaled 21 in 2015 for South Dakota, 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 South Dakota decreased by eight from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 46 in 1999 to a low of 20 in 2013. (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 South Dakota, transportation incidents resulted in 9 fatal work injuries and accounted for approximately 43 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents declined by 4 from the previous year.

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 agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector had the largest number of fatalities in South Dakota with nine, unchanged from the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal event in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector with six worker deaths. Cattle ranching and farming accounted for four of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

Management occupations and transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with nine and four, respectively. (See table 3.) Eight of the nine fatalities within the management group were farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 90 percent of the work-related fatalities in South Dakota, slightly below the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 42 percent of the fatalities for men in South Dakota.
• White non-Hispanics accounted for all of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 67 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 35-54 years old accounted for 38 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2015, compared to 41 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 21 fatal work injuries in South Dakota, 43 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for self-employed 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 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, South Dakota, 2014–15

Event or exposure (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	29	21	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	--	--	--
Intentional injury by person	--	--	--
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	--	1	5
Shooting--intentional self-harm	--	1	5
Transportation incidents	13	9	43
Aircraft incidents	4	1	5
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	4	1	5
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing--into structure, object, or ground	4	1	5
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	--	5	24
Nonroadway noncollision incident	--	4	19
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	--	4	19
Fires and explosions	--	3	14
Fires	--	1	5
Other structural fire without collapse	--	1	5
Explosions	--	2	10
Explosion of nonpressurized vapors, gases, or liquids	--	1	5
Explosion of pressure vessel, piping, or tire	--	1	5
Falls, slips, trips	9	3	14
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	--	--	--
Contact with objects and equipment	5	4	19
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	--	1	5
Caught in running equipment or machinery	--	1	5
Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning	--	1	5
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	--	1	5
Engulfment in other collapsing material	--	1	5
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. 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, South Dakota, 2014–15

Industry (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	29	21	100
Private industry	28	20	95
Natural resources and mining	9	9	43
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	9	9	43
Crop production	3	4	19
Animal production and aquaculture	6	4	19
Cattle ranching and farming	5	4	19
Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots	--	3	14
Beef cattle ranching and farming	--	2	10
Cattle feedlots	--	1	5
Construction	6	--	--
Construction	6	--	--
Construction of buildings	1	1	5
Residential building construction	1	1	5
Residential building construction	1	1	5
Residential remodelers	1	1	5
Manufacturing	3	3	14
Manufacturing	3	3	14
Food manufacturing	--	1	5
Grain and oilseed milling	--	1	5
Starch and vegetable fats and oils manufacturing	--	1	5
Soybean and other oilseed processing	--	1	5
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	--	1	5
Architectural and structural metals manufacturing	--	1	5
Plate work and fabricated structural product manufacturing	--	1	5
Prefabricated metal building and component manufacturing	--	1	5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	7	4	19
Wholesale trade	4	1	5
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	--	1	5
Machinery, equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers	--	1	5
Farm and garden machinery and equipment merchant wholesalers	--	1	5
Retail trade	--	1	5
Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers	--	1	5
Building material and supplies dealers	--	1	5
Home centers	--	1	5
Transportation and warehousing	3	--	--
Truck transportation	--	--	--
General freight trucking	--	1	5
General freight trucking, long-distance	--	1	5
General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload	--	1	5
Professional and business services	--	1	5
Professional and technical services	--	1	5
Professional, scientific, and technical services	--	1	5
Specialized design services	--	1	5
Interior design services	--	1	5
Leisure and hospitality	--	1	5
Accommodation and food services	--	1	5
Food services and drinking places	--	1	5
Restaurants and other eating places	--	1	5
Restaurants and other eating places	--	1	5
Full-service restaurants	--	1	5
Government (2)	1	1	5
Local government	--	1	5
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, South Dakota, 2014–15

Occupation (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	29	21	100
Management occupations	6	9	43
Other management occupations	6	9	43
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	6	8	38
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	6	8	38
Food service managers	--	1	5
Food service managers	--	1	5
Protective service occupations	--	1	5
Fire fighting and prevention workers	--	1	5
Firefighters	--	1	5
Firefighters	--	1	5
Office and administrative support occupations	--	1	5
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers	--	1	5
Dispatchers	--	1	5
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance	--	1	5
Construction and extraction occupations	6	--	--
Construction trades workers	5	--	--
Construction laborers	--	1	5
Construction laborers	--	1	5
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	1	5
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	--	1	5
Industrial machinery installation, repair, and maintenance workers	--	1	5
Industrial machinery mechanics	--	1	5
Production occupations	--	1	5
Metal workers and plastic workers	--	1	5
Welding, soldering, and brazing workers	--	1	5
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	--	1	5
Transportation and material moving occupations	5	4	19
Motor vehicle operators	4	3	14
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	4	3	14
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	4	3	14
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, South Dakota, 2014–15

Worker characteristics	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	29	21	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	15	9	43
Self-employed (2)	14	12	57
Gender
Men	26	19	90
Women	3	--	--
Age (3)
35 to 44 years	4	3	14
45 to 54 years	6	5	24
55 to 64 years	7	5	24
65 years and over	6	7	33
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	29	21	100
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.