Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

20-134-ATL
Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Fatal Occupational Injuries in North Carolina – 2018

Fatal work injuries totaled 178 in 2018 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 down from 183 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 5,250 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2018, up from the 5,147 fatal injuries in 2017, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In North Carolina, transportation incidents resulted in 84 fatal work injuries, up from 73 over the year. This major category accounted for 47 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.)

Contact with objects and equipment was the second-most frequent fatal work event with 24 fatalities, similar to the previous year. Two other events—violence and other injuries by persons or animals; and falls, slips, and trips—each had 23 fatal work injuries in 2018. Workers deaths from violence and other injuries by persons or animals were down from 27 over the year, while worker fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips were down from 28 in the previous year.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2018, 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 (16 percent), followed by falls, slips, and trips (15 percent) and contact with objects and equipment (15 percent).

Industry

The private transportation and warehousing industry sector had the largest number of fatalities in North Carolina with 31, up from 27 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents accounted for about three-fourths of those fatally injured in the industry. The general freight trucking sector accounted for 15 of the 31 workplace fatalities in the transportation and warehousing industry.

The private construction industry had 30 fatalities in North Carolina, down from 36 in the previous year. The specialty trade contractors sector accounted for 20, or two-thirds, of the fatal injuries in the construction industry.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 46. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 25 of the 46 fatalities in the transportation and material moving occupational group. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second highest number of workplace fatalities with 26. Construction trades workers suffered 21 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 91 percent of the work-related fatalities in North Carolina, similar to the 92-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 47 percent of the fatalities for men in North Carolina.

  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 63 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 65 percent of work-related deaths.

  • Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 48 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2018, compared to 58 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

  • Of the 178 fatally-injured workers in North Carolina, 86 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents; transportation incidents and falls, slips, and trips were the most frequent fatal events for self-employed workers.


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 2018 national data, over 24,800 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 www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.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 North Carolina Department of Labor 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, 2017–18
Event or exposure (1)20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

183178100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

272313

Intentional injury by person

272011

Intentional injury by other person

2184

Shooting by other person--intentional

1284

Self-inflicted injury--intentional

6127

Shooting--intentional self-harm

563

Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation--intentional self-harm

--63

Transportation incidents

738447

Pedestrian vehicular incident

795

Water vehicle incidents

142

Capsized or sinking water vehicle

--32

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

496436

Roadway collision with other vehicle

282916

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

182715

Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway

182413

Roadway noncollision incident

384

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

1253

Fires and explosions

642

Explosions

532

Falls, slips, trips

282313

Falls on same level

642

Falls to lower level

221911

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

231911

Exposure to electricity

611

Exposure to other harmful substances

14148

Contact with objects and equipment

262413

Struck by object or equipment

181810

Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects

553

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, 2017–18
Industry (1)20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

183178100

Private industry

16315889

Goods producing

695833

Natural resources and mining

22116

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

22116

Construction

363017

Construction

363017

Construction of buildings

442

Heavy and civil engineering construction

563

Specialty trade contractors

272011

Manufacturing

111710

Service providing

9410056

Trade, transportation, and utilities

424425

Wholesale trade

353

Retail trade

1284

Transportation and warehousing

273117

Truck transportation

162212

General freight trucking

9158

Specialized freight trucking

774

Information

------

Financial activities

3----

Professional and business services

243117

Administrative and waste services

242916

Administrative and support services

212715

Services to buildings and dwellings

171911

Landscaping services

17169

Educational and health services

653

Leisure and hospitality

1263

Other services, except public administration

695

Government (2)

202011

Federal government

1253

State government

532

Local government

3127

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, 2017–18
Occupation (1)20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

183178100

Management occupations

1674

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

1----

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

2----

Healthcare support occupations

------

Protective service occupations

10158

Fire fighting and prevention workers

121

Law enforcement workers

495

Food preparation and serving related occupations

342

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

172313

Grounds maintenance workers

13158

Personal care and service occupations

--21

Sales and related occupations

974

Retail sales workers

353

Office and administrative support occupations

763

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

1042

Construction and extraction occupations

292615

Construction trades workers

242112

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

122112

Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers

353

Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

5148

Production occupations

653

Transportation and material moving occupations

484626

Motor vehicle operators

403319

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

362916

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

272514

Light truck or delivery services drivers

832

Material moving workers

595

Military specific occupations (2)

942

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: 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, 2017–18
Worker characteristics20172018
NumberNumberPercent

Total

183178100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

14515386

Self-employed (2)

382514

Gender

Men

17416291

Women

9169

Age (3)

20 to 24 years

182112

25 to 34 years

272413

35 to 44 years

452514

45 to 54 years

333620

55 to 64 years

294123

65 years and over

312916

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White, non-Hispanic

11911263

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

364224

Hispanic or Latino

20169

American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic

642

Asian, non-Hispanic

--32

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 data for Hispanics and Latinos.

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: Tuesday, February 25, 2020