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News Release Information

21-361-NEW
Monday, March 01, 2021

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Fatal Occupational Injuries in New Jersey – 2019

Fatal work injuries totaled 74 in 2019 for New Jersey, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that the number of work-related fatalities in New Jersey was down from 83 in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 145 in 1993 to a low of 69 in 2017. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 5,333 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2019, a 2 percent increase from the 5,250 in 2018, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. The 5,333 fatal occupational injuries in 2019 represents the largest annual number since 2007.

  Chart 1. Number of fatal occupational injuries by employee status, New Jersey, 2010-19
Fatal event or exposure

In New Jersey, transportation incidents resulted in 23 fatal work injuries, and falls, slips, and trips accounted for 16 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 53 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 32 in 2018. The number of worker fatalities due falls, slips, and trips was unchanged from 2018.

Exposures to harmful substances or environments was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 15 fatalities, up from 12 in 2018. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in 11 work-related deaths compared to 13 in 2018.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2019, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent).

  Chart 2. Distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and New Jersey, 2019
Industry

The private construction industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in New Jersey with 18. (See table 2.) Exposure to harmful substances resulted in 7 of the 18 fatalities in the industry. The administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industry sector had 12 workplace deaths, the second highest total for any sector in New Jersey.

Occupation

The construction and extraction occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 22. (See table 3.) Construction trades workers accounted for 19 of the 22 fatalities among construction and extraction workers. The transportation and material moving occupational group had the second- highest number of workplace fatalities with 19. Motor vehicle operators accounted for 11 of the work-related deaths within the transportation and material moving group.

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 93 percent of the work-related fatalities in New Jersey, similar to the national share. (See table 4.) Falls, slips, and trips accounted for 23 percent of men’s deaths.
  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 47 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 62 percent of work-related deaths.
  • Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 41 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2019, compared to 55 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
  • Of the 74 fatal work injuries in New Jersey, 76 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed.
Changes in Industry and Occupation Classification Structure

Information in this release incorporates revisions to both the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the Standard Occupational Classification codes (SOC). Comparison of data for 2019 to prior years should be done with caution due to these changes, and thus analysis in this release is limited to 2019 for industries and occupations. More information on NAICS can be found at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm. More information on SOC can be found at www.bls.gov/soc/2018/home.htm.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Data in this news release are for reference year 2019. No changes in collection procedures or outputs were necessary due to COVID-19. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-on-workplace-injuries-and-illnesses-compensation-and-occupational-requirements.htm.


Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, is a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI uses a variety of 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 2019 national data, over 25,100 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI, see the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS website at https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm and the CFOI definitions at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm.

Federal/State agency coverage. The CFOI includes data for all fatal work injuries, some of which may be outside the scope of other agencies or regulatory coverage. Comparisons between CFOI counts and those released by other agencies should account for the different coverage requirements and definitions used by each agency. For more information on the scope of CFOI, see www.bls.gov/iif/cfoiscope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the New Jersey Department of Health 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, New Jersey, 2018–19
Event or exposure (1) 2018 2019
Number Number Percent

Total

83 74 100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

13 11 15

Intentional injury by person

13 11 15

Intentional injury by other person

6 6 8

Shooting by other person--intentional

3 5 7

Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing

1 1 1

Self-inflicted injury--intentional

7 5 7

Transportation incidents

32 23 31

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

21 10 14

Roadway collision with other vehicle

10 4 5

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

11 6 8

Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway

11 6 8

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

-- 6 8

Falls, slips, trips

16 16 22

Falls on same level

-- 3 4

Falls to lower level

14 13 18

Other fall to lower level

9 11 15

Other fall to lower level 11 to 15 feet

-- 3 4

Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet

-- 3 4

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

12 15 20

Exposure to electricity

-- 5 7

Exposure to other harmful substances

11 10 14

Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose

9 8 11

Contact with objects and equipment

9 9 12

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. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, New Jersey, 2019
Industry (1) Number Percent

Total

74 100

Private industry (2)

72 97

Goods producing

-- --

Construction

18 24

Construction

18 24

Service providing (3)

-- --

Trade, transportation, and utilities

24 32

Wholesale trade

4 5

Retail trade

5 7

Professional and business services

-- --

Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

12 16

Leisure and hospitality

4 5

Accommodation and food services

4 5

Food services and drinking places

4 5

Restaurants and other eating places

4 5

Restaurants and other eating places

4 5

Full-service restaurants

4 5

Other services, except public administration

4 5

Other services, except public administration

4 5

Footnotes:
(1) CFOI has used several versions of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) since 2003 to define industry. For complete information on the version of NAICS used in this year, see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm.
(2) Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts.
(3) Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts.

Note: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, New Jersey, 2019
Occupation (1) Number Percent

Total

74 100

Management occupations

4 5

Architecture and engineering occupations

3 4

Food preparation and serving related occupations

3 4

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

5 7

Grounds maintenance workers

5 7

Grounds maintenance workers

5 7

Sales and related occupations

5 7

Supervisors of sales workers

3 4

First-line supervisors of sales workers

3 4

Construction and extraction occupations

22 30

Construction trades workers

19 26

Carpenters

6 8

Carpenters

6 8

Construction laborers

7 9

Construction laborers

7 9

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

7 9

Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers

3 4

Transportation and material moving occupations

19 26

Motor vehicle operators

11 15

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

11 15

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

9 12

Footnotes:
(1) CFOI has used several versions of the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) system since 2003 to define occupation. For complete information on the version of SOC used in this year, see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.

Note: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, New Jersey, 2018–19
Worker characteristics 2018 2019
Number Number Percent

Total

83 74 100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

68 56 76

Self-employed (2)

15 18 24

Gender

Men

77 69 93

Women

6 5 7

Age (3)

20 to 24 years

7 8 11

25 to 34 years

10 11 15

35 to 44 years

16 8 11

45 to 54 years

20 11 15

55 to 64 years

19 29 39

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White, non-Hispanic

43 35 47

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

11 12 16

Hispanic or Latino

22 23 31

Asian, non-Hispanic

4 4 5

Footnotes:
(1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. Cases where employment status is unknown are included in the counts of wage and salary workers.
(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 data for Hispanics and Latinos. Cases where ethnicity is unknown are included in counts of non-Hispanic workers.

Note: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

 

Last Modified Date: Monday, March 01, 2021