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News Release Information

22-410-ATL
Tuesday, March 15, 2022

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

Fatal Occupational Injuries in Georgia — 2020

Fatal work injuries totaled 193 in 2020 for Georgia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Georgia was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 249 in 1994 to a low of 101 in 2012.

Nationwide, a total of 4,764 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2020, an 11-percent decrease from 5,333 in 2020, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). The 4,764 fatal occupational injuries in 2020 represents the lowest annual number since 2013. 


Fatal event or exposure

In Georgia, transportation incidents resulted in 80 fatal work injuries and accounted for 41 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents in 2020 for Georgia compared to the 81 fatalities in 2019.

Contact with objects and equipment was the second-most frequent fatal work event with 34 fatalities, up from 28 in the prior year. Falls, slips, and trips resulted in 32 work-related deaths compared to 29 in 2019. 

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2020, accounting for 37 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent).


Industry

The private transportation and warehousing industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Georgia with 39, up from 25 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents resulted in 32 of the 39 fatalities in the industry. The truck transportation subsector accounted for 30, or 77 percent, of fatal workplace injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry.

The private construction industry sector had 37 fatal workplace injuries, down from 47 in the previous year. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 17, or 46 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 60. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 37 of the 60 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second highest number of fatalities with 35. Construction laborers suffered 12 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 95 percent of the work-related fatalities in Georgia, compared to the national rate of 92 percent. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 42 percent of the fatalities for men in Georgia.

  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 43 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 61 percent of work-related deaths.

  • Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 61 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2020, compared to 56 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

  • Of the 193 fatal work injuries in Georgia, 88 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers and for self-employed workers.

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

CFOI reports fatal workplace injuries only. These may include fatal workplace injuries complicated by an illness such as COVID-19. Fatal workplace illnesses not precipitated by an injury are not in scope for CFOI. CFOI does not report any illness related information, including 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 2020 national data, over 21,600 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 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 thanks the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Georgia, 2019–20
Event or exposure (1)20192020
NumberNumberPercent

Total

207193100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

362312

Intentional injury by person

322010

Intentional injury by other person

20126

Self-inflicted injury--intentional

1284

Transportation incidents

818041

Pedestrian vehicular incident

16158

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

514825

Roadway collision with other vehicle

252412

Roadway noncollision incident

--116

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

674

Fires and explosions

1----

Falls, slips, trips

293217

Falls on same level

342

Falls to lower level

262815

Other fall to lower level

202312

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

302111

Exposure to electricity

932

Exposure to temperature extremes

342

Exposure to other harmful substances

16147

Contact with objects and equipment

283418

Struck by object or equipment

212412

Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport

842

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

11168

Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects

553

Caught in running equipment or machinery

432

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. 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, Georgia, 2019–20
Industry (1)20192020
NumberNumberPercent

Total

207193100

Private industry (2)

18517591

Goods producing

------

Natural resources and mining

12----

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

11126

Forestry and logging

174

Construction

473719

Construction

473719

Specialty trade contractors

--179

Manufacturing

--2111

Service providing (3)

------

Trade, transportation, and utilities

426031

Wholesale trade

874

Retail trade

9147

Transportation and warehousing

253920

Truck transportation

213016

Professional and business services

302412

Professional, scientific, and technical services

132

Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

292111

Educational and health services

5----

Health care and social assistance

442

Other services, except public administration

663

Government (4)

22----

Federal government

1153

State government

------

Local government

11126

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, Georgia, 2019–20
Occupation (1)20192020
NumberNumberPercent

Total

207193100

Management occupations

1174

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

------

Educational instruction and library occupations

------

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

1----

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

1----

Healthcare support occupations

------

Protective service occupations

10----

Food preparation and serving related occupations

4----

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

212010

Grounds maintenance workers

18126

Personal care and service occupations

3----

Sales and related occupations

495

Office and administrative support occupations

7----

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

795

Construction and extraction occupations

473518

Supervisors of construction and extraction workers

532

Construction trades workers

373016

Construction laborers

16126

Construction equipment operators

432

Painters and paperhangers

463

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

13147

Production occupations

12137

Transportation and material moving occupations

546031

Motor vehicle operators

384222

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

354222

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

273719

Material moving workers

12158

Industrial truck and tractor operators

332

Laborers and material movers

795

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.

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, Georgia, 2019–20
Worker characteristics20192020
NumberNumberPercent

Total

207193100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

15617088

Self-employed (2)

512312

Gender

Men

18018395

Women

27105

Age (3)

20 to 24 years

1795

25 to 34 years

353619

35 to 44 years

494523

45 to 54 years

433619

55 to 64 years

394121

65 years and over

212010

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White, non-Hispanic

918343

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

745830

Hispanic or Latino

374322

Asian, non-Hispanic

563

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: Tuesday, March 15, 2022