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News Release Information

17-547-NEW
Friday, April 28, 2017

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

Fatal Occupational Injuries in New York City – 2015

Fatal work injuries totaled 74 in 2015 for New York City, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that the number of work-related fatalities in New York City declined by five from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the city have ranged from a high of 191 in 1993 to a low of 56 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 New York City, falls, slips, and trips accounted for 24 fatal work injuries and violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in 23 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 63 percent of all workplace fatalities in New York City. (See table 1.) The number of worker fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips increased by four over the year and deaths from violence and other injuries by persons or animals was little changed from the previous year.

Contact with objects and equipment was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 10 fatalities, up from 8 during the prior year. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in six work-related deaths, little changed from 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 workplace fatalities in New York City with 25, up from 22 in the previous year. Specialty trade contractors accounted for 17, or 68 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Trade, transportation, and utilities had 15 workplace fatalities, down from 20 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals were the most frequent fatal event in the trade, transportation, and utilities sector with 11 worker deaths. Over one-third of those fatally injured in this sector worked in retail trade.

Occupation

Construction and extraction occupations (23) and transportation and material moving occupations (14) had the highest number of workplace fatalities. (See table 3.) The majority of the fatalities within the construction and extraction group were construction trades workers (18). Motor vehicle operators accounted for 11 of the 14 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers.

Contracted workers

A contractor is defined as a worker employed by one firm but working at the behest of another firm that exercises overall responsibility for the operations at the site of the fatal injury. In 2015, New York City had 18 fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria, up from 14 in 2014.

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 95 percent of the work-related fatalities in New York City, similar to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals made up 31 percent of the fatalities for men in New York City.
  • Hispanics or Latinos accounted for 36 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 19 percent of work-related deaths.
  • Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 66 percent of the city’s work-related fatalities in 2015, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
  • Of the 74 fatal work injuries in New York City, 84 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was falls, trips, and slips. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the most frequent fatal event for the self-employed.
Change in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) News Release Schedule

Beginning with the 2015 reference year, CFOI will publish a single, annual release with no revisions. A similar schedule will be followed in subsequent years. Preliminary releases, which normally appeared in August or September in past years, will no longer be produced.


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. The Bureau of Labor Statistics appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that submitted source documents used to identify fatal work injuries, in particular the New York City government.

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, New York City, 2014–15
Event or exposure (1)20142015
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7974100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

252331

Intentional injury by person

232230

Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)

111520

Shooting by other person--intentional

71014

Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing

--34

Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)

1279

Shooting--intentional self-harm

345

Transportation incidents

15912

Pedestrian vehicular incident

634

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

757

Roadway collision with other vehicle

534

Fires and explosions

4----

Falls, slips, trips

202432

Falls on same level

--34

Falls to lower level

192027

Fall through surface or existing opening

334

Other fall to lower level

161622

Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet

--34

Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet

434

Jumps to lower level

--11

Other jump to lower level

--11

Other jump to lower level more than 30 feet

--11

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

768

Exposure to other harmful substances

757

Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose

657

Contact with objects and equipment

81014

Struck by object or equipment

545

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

--45

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

--34

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, New York City, 2014–15
Industry (1)20142015
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7974100

Private industry

676791

Natural resources and mining

------

Construction

222534

Construction

222534

Construction of buildings

757

Residential building construction

--57

Residential building construction

--57

Residential remodelers

--34

Specialty trade contractors

141723

Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors

6811

Poured concrete foundation and structure contractors

--57

Building equipment contractors

745

Other specialty trade contractors

--45

Site preparation contractors

--45

Manufacturing

357

Manufacturing

357

Food manufacturing

--34

Chemical manufacturing

--11

Paint, coating, and adhesive manufacturing

--11

Paint and coating manufacturing

--11

Trade, transportation, and utilities

201520

Retail trade

968

Food and beverage stores

534

General merchandise stores

--11

Other general merchandise stores

--11

Transportation and warehousing

9912

Transit and ground passenger transportation

568

Taxi and limousine service

568

Taxi service

557

Information

------

Financial activities

534

Finance and insurance

--11

Credit intermediation and related activities

--11

Nondepository credit intermediation

--11

Other nondepository credit intermediation

--11

Consumer lending

--11

Professional and business services

557

Administrative and waste services

334

Administrative and support services

--34

Educational and health services

334

Leisure and hospitality

545

Accommodation and food services

445

Food services and drinking places

345

Restaurants and other eating places

345

Restaurants and other eating places

345

Full-service restaurants

134

Limited-service restaurants

--11

Other services, except public administration

457

Other services, except public administration

457

Repair and maintenance

------

Automotive repair and maintenance

------

Other automotive repair and maintenance

--11

Car washes

--11

Personal and laundry services

--34

Government (2)

1279

Federal government

--11

State government

334

Local government

--34

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, New York City, 2014–15
Occupation (1)20142015
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7974100

Management occupations

768

Other management occupations

657

Business and financial operations occupations

------

Computer and mathematical occupations

------

Architecture and engineering occupations

------

Life, physical, and social science occupations

------

Community and social services occupations

------

Legal occupations

------

Education, training, and library occupations

------

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

------

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

------

Healthcare support occupations

------

Protective service occupations

579

Law enforcement workers

445

Police officers

434

Police and sheriff's patrol officers

434

Other protective service workers

--34

Security guards and gaming surveillance officers

--34

Security guards

--34

Food preparation and serving related occupations

--34

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

------

Personal care and service occupations

------

Sales and related occupations

657

Supervisors of sales workers

434

First-line supervisors of sales workers

434

First-line supervisors of retail sales workers

334

Retail sales workers

------

Retail salespersons

--11

Retail salespersons

--11

Office and administrative support occupations

3----

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

------

Construction and extraction occupations

202331

Construction trades workers

151824

Construction laborers

61216

Construction laborers

61216

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

5----

Production occupations

457

Supervisors of production workers

--34

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

--34

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

--34

Transportation and material moving occupations

201419

Motor vehicle operators

101115

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

445

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs

568

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs

568

Material moving workers

834

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, New York City, 2014–15
Worker characteristics20142015
NumberNumberPercent

Total

7974100

Employee status

 

Wage and salary workers (1)

626284

Self-employed (2)

171216

Gender

 

Men

727095

Women

745

Age (3)

 

20 to 24 years

645

25 to 34 years

141926

35 to 44 years

191318

45 to 54 years

101723

55 to 64 years

221115

65 years and over

8912

Race or ethnic origin (4)

 

White, non-Hispanic

282027

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

91926

Hispanic or Latino

322736

Asian, non-Hispanic

1057

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: Friday, April 28, 2017