Fatal work injuries totaled 71 in 2016 for Mississippi, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Mississippi was down from 77 in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 128 in 1995 and 1999 to a low of 63 in 2011 and 2012. (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 Mississippi, transportation incidents resulted in 34 fatal work injuries and violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 16 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 70 percent of all workplace fatalities in Mississippi. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents decreased from 37 over the year and worker fatalities due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased from 11. Contact with objects and equipment was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 12 fatalities, little changed from 2015.

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 transportation and warehousing industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in Mississippi with 15, down from 19 in the previous year. (See table 2.) General freight trucking accounted for 6, or 40 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

The private construction sector had 9 workplace fatalities, down from 13 in the previous year. Five of those fatally injured in this sector worked in specialty trade contracting. The private administrative and waste services sector also had 9 workplace fatalities, up from 7 in 2015. Landscaping services accounted for 7 of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities in Mississippi with 28, similar to the previous year. (See table 3.) The majority of the fatalities within this group were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (18).

Sales and related occupations had 9 fatal injuries in 2016. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 8 of the 9 on-the-job fatalities for this occupational group.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 92 percent of the work-related fatalities in Mississippi, similar to the national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 49 percent of the fatalities for men in Mississippi.
• White non-Hispanics accounted for 68 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 51 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2016, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 71 fatally-injured worker injuries in Mississippi, 82 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 national 2016 data, over 23,300 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For the Mississippi 2016 data, 227 unique source documents were reviewed. 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/cfoi/home.htm.

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. BLS thanks the Mississippi 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 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, Mississippi, 2015–16

Event or exposure (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	77	71	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	11	16	23
Intentional injury by person	9	16	23
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	8	13	18
Shooting by other person--intentional	8	13	18
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	--	3	4
Transportation incidents	37	34	48
Pedestrian vehicular incident	5	4	6
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	4	4	6
Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in nonroadway area	--	3	4
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	27	20	28
Roadway collision with other vehicle	13	9	13
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	4	3	4
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway	--	1	1
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	10	7	10
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	9	6	8
Roadway noncollision incident	4	4	6
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	4	2	3
Struck by shifting load during transport, roadway	--	1	1
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	3	8	11
Nonroadway noncollision incident	3	7	10
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	3	3	4
Fall or jump from and struck by same vehicle in normal operation, nonroadway	--	3	4
Falls, slips, trips	10	6	8
Falls to lower level	6	5	7
Other fall to lower level	4	4	6
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	6	3	4
Contact with objects and equipment	13	12	17
Struck by object or equipment	9	7	10
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	3	4	6
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	3	3	4
Caught in running equipment or machinery	--	3	4
Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning	--	3	4
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	--	2	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, Mississippi, 2015–16

Industry (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	77	71	100
Private industry	62	65	92
Natural resources and mining	9	8	11
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	8	6	8
Forestry and logging	--	3	4
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (2)	--	2	3
Mining (except oil and gas)	--	2	3
Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying	--	2	3
Sand, gravel, clay, and ceramic and refractory minerals mining and quarrying	--	2	3
Construction sand and gravel mining	--	2	3
Other nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying	--	--	--
All other nonmetallic mineral mining	--	2	3
Construction	13	9	13
Construction	13	9	13
Specialty trade contractors	7	5	7
Building equipment contractors	--	1	1
Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors	--	1	1
Manufacturing	5	6	8
Manufacturing	5	6	8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	23	23	32
Wholesale trade	--	3	4
Retail trade	4	4	6
Food and beverage stores	--	1	1
Grocery stores	--	1	1
Convenience stores	--	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	19	15	21
Rail transportation	--	1	1
Rail transportation	--	1	1
Rail transportation	--	1	1
Line-haul railroads	--	1	1
Truck transportation	18	11	15
General freight trucking	8	6	8
General freight trucking, local	--	3	4
General freight trucking, long-distance	7	3	4
General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload	4	1	1
General freight trucking, long-distance, less than truckload	--	1	1
Specialized freight trucking	10	4	6
Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, long-distance	4	2	3
Support activities for transportation	--	1	1
Other support activities for transportation	--	1	1
Other support activities for transportation	--	1	1
Postal service	--	1	1
Professional and business services	8	9	13
Administrative and waste services	7	9	13
Administrative and support services	7	8	11
Employment services	--	1	1
Professional employer organizations	--	1	1
Services to buildings and dwellings	6	7	10
Landscaping services	3	7	10
Other services, except public administration	--	4	6
Other services, except public administration	--	4	6
Repair and maintenance	--	4	6
Automotive repair and maintenance	--	--	--
Automotive mechanical and electrical repair and maintenance	--	--	--
Automotive transmission repair	--	1	1
Government (3)	15	6	8
Federal government	3	1	1
Local government	8	3	4
Footnotes: (1) Industry data are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012. (2) Includes fatal injuries at all establishments categorized as Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (Sector 21) in the North American Industry Classification System, 2012, including establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in Oil and Gas Extraction. (3) 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, Mississippi, 2015–16

Occupation (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	77	71	100
Protective service occupations	7	3	4
Fire fighting and prevention workers	--	1	1
Firefighters	--	1	1
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	6	7	10
Grounds maintenance workers	--	7	10
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	--	4	6
Sales and related occupations	--	9	13
Supervisors of sales workers	--	4	6
First-line supervisors of sales workers	--	4	6
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	--	2	3
Retail sales workers	--	3	4
Office and administrative support occupations	--	4	6
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers	--	2	3
Dispatchers	--	1	1
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance	--	1	1
Postal service workers	--	1	1
Postal service mail carriers	--	1	1
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	3	3	4
Agricultural workers	--	1	1
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	--	1	1
Agricultural equipment operators	--	1	1
Construction and extraction occupations	11	7	10
Construction trades workers	8	6	8
Boilermakers	--	1	1
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	3	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	29	28	39
Motor vehicle operators	20	21	30
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	20	20	28
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	20	18	25
Material moving workers	6	5	7
Dredge, excavating, and loading machine operators	--	3	4
Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators	--	3	4
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, Mississippi, 2015–16

Worker characteristics	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	77	71	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	67	58	82
Self-employed (2)	10	13	18
Gender
Men	71	65	92
Women	6	6	8
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	--	9	13
25 to 34 years	10	5	7
35 to 44 years	13	13	18
45 to 54 years	21	18	25
55 to 64 years	21	16	23
65 years and over	7	9	13
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	46	48	68
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	22	19	27
Hispanic or Latino	7	--	--
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.