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News Release Information

21-321-ATL
Thursday, March 25, 2021

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

Fatal Occupational Injuries in Florida — 2019

Fatal work injuries totaled 306 in 2019 for Florida, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Florida was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 422 in 2004 to a low of 218 in 2012.

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, Florida, 2010–19

Fatal event or exposure

In Florida, transportation incidents resulted in 106 fatal work injuries and falls, slips, and trips accounted for 69 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 57 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 117 over the year and worker fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips were down from 82.

Exposure to harmful substances or environments was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 44 fatalities, down from 56 in the prior year. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in 43 work-related deaths, up from 33 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 Florida, 2019

Industry

The private construction industry had the highest number of fatalities in Florida with 91. (See table 2.) The private administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industry had 48 workplace fatalities. The administrative and support services subsector accounted for 43, or 90 percent, of the fatal injuries in the private administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industry.

Occupation

The construction and extraction occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 83. (See table 3.) Construction trades workers accounted for 72 of the 83 fatalities among construction and extraction workers. The transportation and material moving occupational group had the second highest number of workplace fatalities with 70. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers suffered 36 of the work-related deaths within the transportation and material moving group.

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 91 percent of the work-related fatalities in Florida, similar to the national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 36 percent of the fatalities for men in Florida.

  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 49 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 58 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2019, compared to 55 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

  • Of the 306 fatal work injuries in Florida, 88 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 was also the most frequent fatal event for self-employed workers.

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 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 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, Florida, 2018–19
Event or exposure (1) 2018 2019
Number Number Percent

Total

332 306 100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

33 43 14

Intentional injury by person

32 38 12

Intentional injury by other person

22 27 9

Self-inflicted injury--intentional

10 11 4

Transportation incidents

117 106 35

Aircraft incidents

8 12 4

Pedestrian vehicular incident

24 16 5

Water vehicle incidents

6 4 1

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

70 63 21

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

8 11 4

Fires and explosions

7 -- --

Falls, slips, trips

82 69 23

Falls to lower level

69 61 20

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

56 44 14

Exposure to electricity

23 18 6

Exposure to temperature extremes

4 6 2

Exposure to other harmful substances

22 16 5

Exposure to oxygen deficiency, n.e.c.

7 4 1

Drowning, submersion, n.e.c.

6 4 1

Contact with objects and equipment

37 39 13

Struck by object or equipment

26 36 12

Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport

7 13 4

Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle

17 19 6

Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects

6 3 1

Overexertion and bodily reaction

-- 1 0

Overexertion involving outside sources

-- 1 0

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 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, Florida, 2019
Industry (1) Number Percent

Total

306 100

Private industry (2)

294 96

Goods producing

-- --

Natural resources and mining

17 6

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

17 6

Construction

91 30

Manufacturing

-- --

Service providing (3)

-- --

Trade, transportation, and utilities

-- --

Wholesale trade

5 2

Retail trade

13 4

Information

-- --

Financial activities

14 5

Real estate and rental and leasing

10 3

Professional and business services

58 19

Professional, scientific, and technical services

10 3

Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

48 16

Administrative and support services

43 14

Educational and health services

12 4

Educational services

3 1

Health care and social assistance

9 3

Leisure and hospitality

14 5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

5 2

Accommodation and food services

9 3

Other services, except public administration

13 4

Government (4)

12 4

Federal government

2 1

State government

2 1

Local government

8 3

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 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.
(4) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. Cases classified as foreign government and other government are included in all government counts, but not displayed separately.

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 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, Florida, 2019
Occupation (1) Number Percent

Total

306 100

Management occupations

6 2

Business and financial operations occupations

-- --

Computer and mathematical occupations

-- --

Architecture and engineering occupations

-- --

Life, physical, and social science occupations

1 0

Community and social service occupations

-- --

Legal occupations

-- --

Educational instruction and library occupations

1 0

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

4 1

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

4 1

Healthcare support occupations

3 1

Protective service occupations

10 3

Food preparation and serving related occupations

6 2

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

36 12

Grounds maintenance workers

29 9

Personal care and service occupations

4 1

Sales and related occupations

10 3

Office and administrative support occupations

-- --

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

16 5

Construction and extraction occupations

83 27

Construction trades workers

72 24

Carpenters

10 3

Construction laborers

19 6

Roofers

16 5

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

28 9

Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers

12 4

Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

13 4

Production occupations

12 4

Transportation and material moving occupations

70 23

Motor vehicle operators

50 16

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

46 15

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

36 12

Light truck drivers

7 2

Material moving workers

10 3

Military specific occupations (2)

1 0

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 www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.
(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. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at 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, Florida, 2018–19
Worker characteristics 2018 2019
Number Number Percent

Total

332 306 100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

294 269 88

Self-employed (2)

38 37 12

Gender

Men

316 279 91

Women

16 27 9

Age (3)

16 to 17 years

-- 3 1

18 to 19 years

3 -- --

20 to 24 years

12 14 5

25 to 34 years

56 38 12

35 to 44 years

75 78 25

45 to 54 years

79 61 20

55 to 64 years

68 69 23

65 years and over

39 41 13

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White, non-Hispanic

178 150 49

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

43 41 13

Hispanic or Latino

104 109 36

Asian, non-Hispanic

4 3 1

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 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: Thursday, March 25, 2021