Fatal work injuries totaled 183 in 2017 for North Carolina, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in North Carolina was up from 174 in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 234 in 2000 to a low of 109 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 North Carolina, transportation incidents accounted for 73, or about 40 percent of fatal work injuries in 2017, an increase from 68 fatalities in 2016. (See table 1.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent fatal event in North Carolina with 28 fatalities, followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (27), and contact with objects and equipment (26).

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 common fatal event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in North Carolina with 36, up from 30 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Three-fourths of those fatally injured in this industry worked in the specialty trade contractors subsector.

The private transportation and warehousing sector had 27 workplace fatalities, little changed from the previous year. The general freight trucking industry group accounted for nine of the fatal injuries within the transportation and warehousing sector.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations and construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 48 and 29, respectively. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 27 of the 48 fatalities in the transportation and material moving occupational group. Construction trades workers accounted for 24 of the 29 workplace fatalities within the construction and extraction occupational group.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 95 percent of the work-related fatalities in North Carolina, compared to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 41 percent of the fatalities for men in North Carolina.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 65 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 57 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2017, compared to 55 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

• Of the 183 fatally-injured workers in North Carolina, 79 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 Bureau of Labor Statistics (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 the North Carolina 2017 data, 1,010 unique source documents were reviewed. 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 North Carolina 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, North Carolina, 2016–17

Event or exposure (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	174	183	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	35	27	15
Intentional injury by person	33	27	15
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	25	21	11
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	8	6	3
Transportation incidents	68	73	40
Pedestrian vehicular incident	14	7	4
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	37	49	27
Roadway collision with other vehicle	13	28	15
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	15	18	10
Roadway noncollision incident	9	3	2
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	10	12	7
Nonroadway noncollision incident	9	11	6
Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway	5	9	5
Fires and explosions	3	6	3
Fires	1	1	1
Explosions	--	5	3
Falls, slips, trips	26	28	15
Falls on same level	--	6	3
Falls to lower level	23	22	12
Other fall to lower level	17	18	10
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	20	23	13
Exposure to electricity	3	6	3
Exposure to other harmful substances	8	14	8
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose	7	13	7
Exposure to oxygen deficiency, n.e.c.	4	1	1
Drowning, submersion, n.e.c.	4	1	1
Contact with objects and equipment	21	26	14
Struck by object or equipment	18	18	10
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	8	6	3
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	9	11	6
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	--	5	3
Caught in running equipment or machinery	--	4	2
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, North Carolina, 2016–17

Industry (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	174	183	100
Private industry	155	163	89
Natural resources and mining	17	22	12
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	16	22	12
Crop production	6	12	7
Forestry and logging	3	7	4
Construction	30	36	20
Construction	30	36	20
Construction of buildings	4	4	2
Heavy and civil engineering construction	3	5	3
Specialty trade contractors	22	27	15
Manufacturing	11	11	6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	42	42	23
Wholesale trade	6	3	2
Retail trade	11	12	7
Transportation and warehousing	25	27	15
Truck transportation	17	16	9
General freight trucking	13	9	5
Information	1	--	--
Financial activities	3	3	2
Professional and business services	22	24	13
Administrative and waste services	22	24	13
Administrative and support services	19	21	11
Services to buildings and dwellings	11	17	9
Educational and health services	4	6	3
Leisure and hospitality	9	12	7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	4	5	3
Accommodation and food services	5	7	4
Food services and drinking places	5	7	4
Other services, except public administration	16	6	3
Government (2)	19	20	11
Federal government	8	12	7
State government	--	5	3
Local government	10	3	2
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, North Carolina, 2016–17

Occupation (1)	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	174	183	100
Management occupations	5	16	9
Other management occupations	4	14	8
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	--	8	4
Food service managers	--	3	2
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	--	--
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--	--
Community and social service occupations	--	--	--
Legal occupations	--	--	--
Education, training, and library occupations	1	--	--
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	1	1	1
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	2	1
Healthcare support occupations	1	--	--
Protective service occupations	10	10	5
Fire fighting and prevention workers	2	1	1
Law enforcement workers	4	4	2
Other protective service workers	4	4	2
Food preparation and serving related occupations	6	3	2
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	11	17	9
Supervisors of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers	--	4	2
Grounds maintenance workers	11	13	7
Personal care and service occupations	3	--	--
Sales and related occupations	12	9	5
Supervisors of sales workers	6	5	3
Retail sales workers	4	3	2
Office and administrative support occupations	--	7	4
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers	--	5	3
Postal service workers	--	3	2
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	11	10	5
Agricultural workers	6	3	2
Forest, conservation, and logging workers	--	5	3
Construction and extraction occupations	30	29	16
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	2	5	3
Construction trades workers	27	24	13
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	25	12	7
Supervisors of installation, maintenance, and repair workers	3	3	2
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	12	3	2
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	9	5	3
Production occupations	4	6	3
Transportation and material moving occupations	44	48	26
Air transportation workers	2	2	1
Motor vehicle operators	37	40	22
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	31	36	20
Driver/sales workers	2	1	1
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	25	27	15
Light truck or delivery services drivers	4	8	4
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	4	2	1
Water transportation workers	--	1	1
Material moving workers	5	5	3
Military specific occupations (2)	6	9	5
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010. (2) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed.
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, North Carolina, 2016–17

Worker characteristics	2016	2017
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	174	183	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	151	145	79
Self-employed (2)	23	38	21
Gender
Men	156	174	95
Women	18	9	5
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	19	18	10
25 to 34 years	23	27	15
35 to 44 years	36	45	25
45 to 54 years	41	33	18
55 to 64 years	35	29	16
65 years and over	18	31	17
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	110	119	65
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	38	36	20
Hispanic or Latino	19	20	11
American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic	--	6	3
Asian, non-Hispanic	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.