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News Release Information

17-1612-CHI
Thursday, February 22, 2018

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Fatal Work Injuries in South Dakota — 2016

Fatal work injuries totaled 31 in 2016 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 increased from 21 in 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 5,190 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2016, a 7-percent increase from the 4,836 fatal injuries 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.

Type of incident

In South Dakota, falls, slips, or trips resulted in eight fatal work injuries and transportation incidents resulted in seven fatalities. These two major categories accounted for approximately 48 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from falls, slips, or trips were up from three over the year and worker fatalities due to transportation incidents declined by two from the previous year.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2016, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent), followed by falls, slips, or trips (16 percent).

Industry

The private agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector had the largest number of fatalities in South Dakota with 16, up from 9 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Nine of the 16 fatalities occurred in crop production.

Occupation

Management occupations and construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 12 each. (See table 3.) Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers accounted for all of the fatalities within the management occupations. Ten of the 12 fatalities within the construction and extraction group were construction trade workers.

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 97 percent of the work-related fatalities in South Dakota, compared to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Falls, slips, or trips made up 27 percent of the fatalities for men in South Dakota.
  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 84 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 48 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2016, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
  • Of the 31 fatally-injured workers in South Dakota, 52 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was falls, slips, or trips; for self-employed workers, the most frequent fatal event 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 2016 national data, over 23,300 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 website at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm.

Federal/State agency coverage. The CFOI includes data for all fatal work injuries, even those that may be outside the scope of other agencies or 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. More on the scope of CFOI can be found at www.bls.gov/iif/cfoiscope.htm.

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, 2015–16
Event or exposure (1)20152016
NumberNumberPercent

Total

2131100

Transportation incidents

9723

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

5413

Nonroadway noncollision incident

4413

Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway

4310

Fires and explosions

3310

Fires

113

Ignition of vapors, gases, or liquids

--13

Explosions

226

Explosion of nonpressurized vapors, gases, or liquids

126

Falls, slips, trips

3826

Falls to lower level

--723

Other fall to lower level

--516

Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet

--13

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

--516

Exposure to electricity

------

Indirect exposure to electricity

--13

Indirect exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts

--13

Exposure to other harmful substances

--13

Inhalation of harmful substance

--13

Contact with objects and equipment

4619

Struck by object or equipment

------

Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport

------

Struck by falling part of powered vehicle still attached

--13

Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material

1413

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, 2015–16
Industry (1)20152016
NumberNumberPercent

Total

2131100

Private industry

203097

Natural resources and mining

91652

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

91652

Crop production

4929

Oilseed and grain farming

--413

Soybean farming

--26

Wheat farming

--13

Animal production and aquaculture

4723

Cattle ranching and farming

4723

Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots

3413

Beef cattle ranching and farming

2413

Dairy cattle and milk production

--26

Construction

--1135

Construction

--1135

Construction of buildings

1310

Residential building construction

113

Residential building construction

113

Nonresidential building construction

------

Industrial building construction

--13

Specialty trade contractors

--516

Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors

--310

Framing contractors

--13

Residential framing contractors

--13

Roofing contractors

--13

Nonresidential roofing contractors

--13

Other specialty trade contractors

--13

Site preparation contractors

--13

Nonresidential site preparation contractors

--13

Manufacturing

313

Manufacturing

313

Plastics and rubber products manufacturing

--13

Plastics product manufacturing

--13

Polystyrene foam product manufacturing

--13

Trade, transportation, and utilities

413

Retail trade

113

Motor vehicle and parts dealers

--13

Automotive parts, accessories, and tire stores

--13

Tire dealers

--13

Educational and health services

--13

Health care and social assistance

--13

Social assistance

--13

Vocational rehabilitation services

--13

Government (2)

113

Local government

113
 

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, 2015–16
Occupation (1)20152016
NumberNumberPercent

Total

2131100

Management occupations

91239

Other management occupations

91239

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

81239

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

81239

Food preparation and serving related occupations

--13

Cooks and food preparation workers

--13

Food preparation workers

--13

Food preparation workers

--13

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

--413

Agricultural workers

--413

Miscellaneous agricultural workers

--413

Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals

--413

Construction and extraction occupations

--1239

Construction trades workers

--1032

Carpenters

--310

Carpenters

--310

Construction laborers

1310

Construction laborers

1310

Electricians

--13

Electricians

--13

Roofers

--13

Roofers

--13

Footnotes:
(1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010.
 

NOTE: 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 selected demographic characteristics, South Dakota, 2015–16
Worker characteristics20152016
NumberNumberPercent

Total

2131100

Employee status

 

Wage and salary workers (1)

91652

Self-employed (2)

121548

Gender

 

Men

193097

Women

------

Age (3)

 

20 to 24 years

--413

25 to 34 years

--413

35 to 44 years

3619

45 to 54 years

5516

55 to 64 years

5516

65 years and over

7619

Race or ethnic origin (4)

 

White, non-Hispanic

212684

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

------

Hispanic or Latino

--310

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, February 22, 2018