Fatal work injuries totaled 101 in 2017 for Minnesota, 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 Minnesota increased from 92 in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 113 in 1993 to a low of 60 in 2011. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 5,147 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2017, down slightly from the 5,190 fatal injuries reported in 2016, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In Minnesota, transportation incidents resulted in 46 fatal work injuries and contact with objects or equipment accounted for 16 fatalities. (See table 1.)  The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents was unchanged from the previous year, while worker fatalities due to contact with objects or equipment were up from 10 over the year.

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals and falls, slips, or trips each resulted in 14 fatal work events in 2017. The number of workplace deaths due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased by four over the year while the number of worker deaths as a result of falls, slips, or trips was up by three compared to 2016.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2017, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent type of event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent) and contact with objects and equipment (14 percent).

Industry

The private agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry had the largest number of fatal work injuries in Minnesota with 23, unchanged from the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event with 12 worker deaths. The animal production and aquaculture sector accounted for 12 of the industry’s fatal injuries.

The private retail trade industry had 14 workplace fatalities, up 9 from the previous year. Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event with eight worker deaths. Motor vehicle and parts dealers accounted for five of the fatal work injuries and food and beverage stores accounted for three of the workplace fatalities in the retail trade industry.

Occupation

The management occupational group and the transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of work-related fatalities with 18 each. (See table 3.) Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers accounted for 15 of the management occupational fatalities; heavy and tractor trailer truck drivers suffered nine of the work-related deaths within the transportation and material moving group. The installation, maintenance, and repair occupational group had the next highest number of fatalities with 13, followed by construction and extraction occupations with 12. Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers suffered nine of the installation, maintenance, and repair occupational fatalities; construction trades workers accounted for 8 of the 12 fatalities within the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 88 percent of the work-related fatalities in Minnesota, compared to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 45 percent of the fatalities for men in Minnesota.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 89 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 39 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 55 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

• Of the 101 fatally-injured workers in Minnesota, 65 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 2017 national data, over 23,400 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 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 and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry 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, Minnesota, 2016–17

Event or exposure (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	92	101	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	10	14	14
Intentional injury by person	9	11	11
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	3	5	5
Shooting by other person--intentional	--	1	1
Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing	--	2	2
Multiple violent acts by other person	--	2	2
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	6	6	6
Shooting--intentional self-harm	--	4	4
Injury by person--unintentional or intent unknown	--	1	1
Injury by other person--unintentional or intent unknown	--	1	1
Animal and insect related incidents	--	--	--
Struck by animal	--	--	--
Gored or rammed by animal	--	1	1
Transportation incidents	46	46	46
Rail vehicle incidents	3	3	3
Collision between rail vehicle and another vehicle	--	3	3
Collision between rail and roadway vehicles	--	3	3
Animal and other non-motorized vehicle transportation incidents	--	1	1
Pedal cycle incident	--	1	1
Pedal cycle collision in roadway	--	1	1
Pedestrian vehicular incident	4	7	7
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	--	4	4
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	29	21	21
Roadway collision with other vehicle	17	16	16
Roadway collision--moving in same direction	--	2	2
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	8	5	5
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	4	4	4
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway	--	4	4
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	10	3	3
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	9	3	3
Roadway noncollision incident	--	--	--
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	1	1	1
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	7	11	11
Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle	3	3	3
Nonroadway noncollision incident	4	8	8
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	3	3	3
Fires and explosions	--	5	5
Explosions	--	--	--
Explosion of nonpressurized vapors, gases, or liquids	--	2	2
Falls, slips, trips	11	14	14
Falls on same level	3	4	4
Falls to lower level	8	10	10
Other fall to lower level	7	9	9
Other fall to lower level 6 to 10 feet	--	4	4
Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet	--	1	1
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	12	5	5
Exposure to electricity	--	3	3
Contact with objects and equipment	10	16	16
Struck by object or equipment	6	8	8
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	1	4	4
Struck by powered vehicle tipping over--nontransport	--	1	1
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	1	4	4
Caught in running equipment or machinery	1	3	3
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	3	3	3
Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment	--	1	1
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, Minnesota, 2016–17

Industry (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	92	101	100
Private industry	84	99	98
Natural resources and mining	25	23	23
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	23	23	23
Crop production	12	10	10
Oilseed and grain farming	6	3	3
Wheat farming	--	1	1
Corn farming	4	1	1
Animal production and aquaculture	7	12	12
Cattle ranching and farming	6	9	9
Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots	--	4	4
Beef cattle ranching and farming	1	4	4
Dairy cattle and milk production	--	4	4
Other animal production	--	3	3
Construction	15	11	11
Construction	15	11	11
Construction of buildings	3	5	5
Residential building construction	--	1	1
Residential building construction	--	1	1
New single-family housing construction (except for-sale builders)	--	1	1
Nonresidential building construction	1	4	4
Commercial and institutional building construction	1	4	4
Heavy and civil engineering construction	3	3	3
Highway, street, and bridge construction	--	3	3
Highway, street, and bridge construction	--	3	3
Specialty trade contractors	9	3	3
Building finishing contractors	--	--	--
Other building finishing contractors	--	1	1
Other nonresidential building finishing contractors	--	1	1
Manufacturing	4	9	9
Manufacturing	4	9	9
Printing and related support activities	--	1	1
Printing and related support activities	--	1	1
Printing	--	1	1
Commercial screen printing	--	1	1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	17	29	29
Utilities	--	1	1
Utilities	--	1	1
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution	--	1	1
Electric power transmission, control, and distribution	--	1	1
Electric power distribution	--	1	1
Wholesale trade	--	4	4
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	--	3	3
Retail trade	5	14	14
Motor vehicle and parts dealers	--	5	5
Automobile dealers	--	1	1
New car dealers	--	1	1
Food and beverage stores	--	3	3
Beer, wine, and liquor stores	--	1	1
Nonstore retailers	--	--	--
Direct selling establishments	--	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	11	10	10
Truck transportation	8	6	6
General freight trucking	6	4	4
General freight trucking, long-distance	6	4	4
Couriers and messengers	--	1	1
Local messengers and local delivery	--	1	1
Financial activities	--	1	1
Finance and insurance	--	1	1
Securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities	--	1	1
Other financial investment activities	--	1	1
Portfolio management	--	1	1
Professional and business services	10	7	7
Professional and technical services	3	1	1
Professional, scientific, and technical services	3	1	1
Architectural, engineering, and related services	--	1	1
Engineering services	--	1	1
Administrative and waste services	7	6	6
Administrative and support services	5	4	4
Employment services	--	3	3
Educational and health services	3	10	10
Educational services	--	4	4
Educational services	--	4	4
Other schools and instruction	--	--	--
Fine arts schools	--	1	1
Health care and social assistance	3	6	6
Ambulatory health care services	--	3	3
Social assistance	1	3	3
Community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services	--	1	1
Community housing services	--	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	4	4	4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	2	2	2
Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries	2	2	2
Spectator sports	--	2	2
Spectator sports	--	2	2
Other services, except public administration	3	5	5
Other services, except public administration	3	5	5
Repair and maintenance	--	5	5
Automotive repair and maintenance	--	4	4
Automotive mechanical and electrical repair and maintenance	--	4	4
General automotive repair	--	4	4
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012.
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, Minnesota, 2016–17

Occupation (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	92	101	100
Management occupations	17	18	18
Top executives	--	1	1
General and operations managers	--	1	1
General and operations managers	--	1	1
Other management occupations	15	17	17
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	14	15	15
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	14	15	15
Architectural and engineering managers	--	1	1
Architectural and engineering managers	--	1	1
Business and financial operations occupations	--	1	1
Financial specialists	--	1	1
Financial analysts and advisors	--	1	1
Personal financial advisors	--	1	1
Education, training, and library occupations	--	1	1
Other teachers and instructors	--	1	1
Self-enrichment education teachers	--	1	1
Self-enrichment education teachers	--	1	1
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	2	2
Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers	1	2	2
Athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers	--	2	2
Athletes and sports competitors	--	2	2
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	--	--
Other healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	1	1
Miscellaneous health practitioners and technical workers	--	1	1
Athletic trainers	--	1	1
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	4	3	3
Building cleaning and pest control workers	--	1	1
Building cleaning workers	--	1	1
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners	--	1	1
Sales and related occupations	3	8	8
Supervisors of sales workers	--	5	5
First-line supervisors of sales workers	--	5	5
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	--	5	5
Office and administrative support occupations	--	3	3
Information and record clerks	--	1	1
Receptionists and information clerks	--	1	1
Receptionists and information clerks	--	1	1
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	9	8	8
Agricultural workers	6	8	8
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	6	8	8
Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse	--	5	5
Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals	3	3	3
Construction and extraction occupations	18	12	12
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	6	3	3
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	6	3	3
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	6	3	3
Construction trades workers	8	8	8
Construction equipment operators	--	4	4
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	13	13
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	--	9	9
Automotive technicians and repairers	--	3	3
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	--	3	3
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians and mechanics	--	3	3
Small engine mechanics	--	2	2
Motorcycle mechanics	--	2	2
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	--	3	3
Line installers and repairers	--	1	1
Electrical power-line installers and repairers	--	1	1
Production occupations	5	7	7
Other production occupations	--	3	3
Transportation and material moving occupations	17	18	18
Motor vehicle operators	11	12	12
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	10	10	10
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	10	9	9
Material moving workers	3	4	4
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 selected demographic characteristics, Minnesota, 2016–17

Worker characteristics	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	92	101	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	58	66	65
Self-employed (2)	34	35	35
Gender
Men	84	89	88
Women	8	12	12
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	4	4	4
25 to 34 years	12	13	13
35 to 44 years	15	9	9
45 to 54 years	11	17	17
55 to 64 years	27	25	25
65 years and over	21	31	31
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White (non-Hispanic)	79	90	89
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	3	--	--
Hispanic or Latino	6	5	5
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.