Fatal work injuries totaled 30 in 2017 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 was little changed 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 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 South Dakota, transportation incidents resulted in 17 fatal work injuries and accounted for 57 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. Falls, slips, or trips accounted for six workplace fatalities. (See table 1.) Over the year, the number of worker deaths from transportation incidents increased from seven, while worker fatalities due to falls, slips, or trips were little changed.

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

Three private industries had six fatalities each: agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting; construction; and transportation and warehousing. Fatalities in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry were down from 16 in the previous year and worker deaths in the construction industry fell from 11 in 2016. (See table 2.)

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 10. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers suffered five of the work-related deaths within the transportation and material moving group. The construction and extraction occupational group and the management occupational group each had five workplace fatalities. Construction trades workers accounted for 3 of the 5 fatalities among construction and extraction workers. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers accounted for all five of the fatalities within the management occupational group.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 87 percent of the work-related fatalities in South Dakota, compared to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 54 percent of the fatalities for men in South Dakota.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 93 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 37 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 55 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

• Of the 30 fatally-injured workers in South Dakota, 63 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 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, 2016–17

Event or exposure (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	31	30	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	--	2	7
Intentional injury by person	--	2	7
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	--	2	7
Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing	--	1	3
Hitting, kicking, beating, shoving	--	1	3
Transportation incidents	7	17	57
Rail vehicle incidents	--	2	7
Pedestrian struck by rail vehicle--transportation incident	--	2	7
Pedestrian vehicular incident	--	--	--
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	--	--	--
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in nonroadway area	--	1	3
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	--	13	43
Roadway collision with other vehicle	--	4	13
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	--	2	7
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	--	2	7
Roadway noncollision incident	--	6	20
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	--	5	17
Falls, slips, trips	8	6	20
Falls to lower level	7	6	20
Fall through surface or existing opening	--	1	3
Fall through surface or existing opening 16 to 20 feet	--	1	3
Other fall to lower level	5	4	13
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	5	2	7
Exposure to other harmful substances	1	1	3
Inhalation of harmful substance	1	1	3
Inhalation of harmful substance--single episode	1	1	3
Exposure to oxygen deficiency, n.e.c.	--	1	3
Drowning, submersion, n.e.c.	--	1	3
Contact with objects and equipment	6	3	10
Struck by object or equipment	--	3	10
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	--	3	10
Caught between rolling powered vehicle and other object	--	1	3
Struck or run over by rolling powered vehicle	--	1	3
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, 2016–17

Industry (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	31	30	100
Private industry	30	30	100
Natural resources and mining	16	6	20
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	16	6	20
Crop production	9	3	10
Oilseed and grain farming	4	2	7
Corn farming	--	1	3
Other grain farming	--	1	3
Oilseed and grain combination farming	--	1	3
Animal production and aquaculture	7	2	7
Cattle ranching and farming	7	2	7
Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots	4	1	3
Beef cattle ranching and farming	4	1	3
Dairy cattle and milk production	2	1	3
Forestry and logging	--	1	3
Logging	--	1	3
Construction	11	6	20
Construction	11	6	20
Construction of buildings	3	1	3
Residential building construction	1	1	3
Residential building construction	1	1	3
New single-family housing construction (except for-sale builders)	--	1	3
Specialty trade contractors	5	4	13
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	3	2	7
Structural steel and precast concrete contractors	--	1	3
Framing contractors	1	1	3
Nonresidential framing contractors	--	1	3
Building equipment contractors	--	1	3
Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors	--	1	3
Manufacturing	1	2	7
Manufacturing	1	2	7
Food manufacturing	--	1	3
Dairy product manufacturing	--	1	3
Dairy product (except frozen) manufacturing	--	1	3
Fluid milk manufacturing	--	1	3
Machinery manufacturing	--	1	3
Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing	--	1	3
Construction machinery manufacturing	--	1	3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1	11	37
Wholesale trade	--	--	--
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	--	--	--
Farm product raw material merchant wholesalers	--	1	3
Livestock merchant wholesalers	--	1	3
Retail trade	1	3	10
Motor vehicle and parts dealers	1	1	3
Automobile dealers	--	1	3
Gasoline stations	--	1	3
Gasoline stations	--	1	3
Gasoline stations with convenience stores	--	1	3
Transportation and warehousing	--	6	20
Rail transportation	--	3	10
Rail transportation	--	3	10
Rail transportation	--	3	10
Line-haul railroads	--	3	10
Truck transportation	--	--	--
Specialized freight trucking	--	2	7
Used household and office goods moving	--	2	7
Information	--	1	3
Information	--	1	3
Publishing industries (except internet)	--	1	3
Newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers	--	1	3
Newspaper publishers	--	1	3
Financial activities	--	1	3
Finance and insurance	--	1	3
Credit intermediation and related activities	--	1	3
Depository credit intermediation	--	1	3
Commercial banking	--	1	3
Educational and health services	1	1	3
Health care and social assistance	1	1	3
Nursing and residential care facilities	--	1	3
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities)	--	1	3
Leisure and hospitality	--	2	7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	--	2	7
Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries	--	2	7
Other amusement and recreation industries	--	2	7
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, South Dakota, 2016–17

Occupation (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	31	30	100
Management occupations	12	5	17
Other management occupations	12	5	17
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	12	5	17
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	12	5	17
Business and financial operations occupations	--	1	3
Business operations specialists	--	1	3
Training and development specialists	--	1	3
Training and development specialists	--	1	3
Personal care and service occupations	--	1	3
Other personal care and service workers	--	1	3
Recreation and fitness workers	--	1	3
Recreation workers	--	1	3
Sales and related occupations	--	2	7
Supervisors of sales workers	--	1	3
First-line supervisors of sales workers	--	1	3
First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers	--	1	3
Retail sales workers	--	1	3
Cashiers	--	1	3
Cashiers	--	1	3
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	4	2	7
Fishing and hunting workers	--	1	3
Fishers and related fishing workers	--	1	3
Fishers and related fishing workers	--	1	3
Forest, conservation, and logging workers	--	1	3
Logging workers	--	1	3
Fallers	--	1	3
Construction and extraction occupations	12	5	17
Construction trades workers	10	3	10
Carpenters	3	1	3
Carpenters	3	1	3
Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	--	1	3
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	--	1	3
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	--	--	--
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	--	1	3
Miscellaneous installation, maintenance, and repair workers	--	1	3
Signal and track switch repairers	--	1	3
Transportation and material moving occupations	--	10	33
Supervisors of transportation and material moving workers	--	--	--
First-line supervisors of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand	--	1	3
First-line supervisors of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand	--	1	3
First-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators	--	1	3
First-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators	--	1	3
Motor vehicle operators	--	7	23
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	--	7	23
Driver/sales workers	--	2	7
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	--	5	17
Material moving workers	--	1	3
Laborers and material movers, hand	--	1	3
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	--	1	3
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, South Dakota, 2016–17

Worker characteristics	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	31	30	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	16	19	63
Self-employed (2)	15	11	37
Gender
Men	30	26	87
Women	--	4	13
Age (3)
25 to 34 years	4	4	13
35 to 44 years	6	3	10
45 to 54 years	5	4	13
55 to 64 years	5	10	33
65 years and over	6	8	27
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White (non-Hispanic)	26	28	93
Black or African-American (non-Hispanic)	--	--	--
Hispanic or Latino	3	--	--
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.