Fatal work injuries totaled 35 in 2016 for Alaska, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Alaska was higher than the 14 fatalities in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 91 in 1992 to a low of 14 in 2015. (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 Alaska, transportation incidents resulted in 24 fatal work injuries and violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 7 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 89 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents rose by 19 over the year.

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 highest number of fatalities in Alaska with 10, compared to 5 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in the transportation and warehousing sector with nine worker deaths. Six of those fatally injured in this sector worked in air transportation.

The private professional and technical services sector had six workplace fatalities in 2016. Engineering services, surveying and mapping services, and testing laboratories each accounted for two fatalities in this industry.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 11. (See table 3.) Five of these fatalities were commercial pilots.

Additional highlights:

• Men accounted for 91 percent of the work-related fatalities in Alaska, compared to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 66 percent of the fatalities for men in Alaska.
• White non-Hispanics accounted for 69 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 2016, equal to the national rate.
• Of the 35 fatally-injured workers in Alaska, 91 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary 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 2016 national data, over 23,300 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. 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/pdf/homch9.pdf.

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.

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 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, Alaska, 2015–16

Event or exposure (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	14	35	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	--	7	20
Intentional injury by person	--	6	17
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	--	2	6
Shooting by other person--intentional	--	2	6
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	--	4	11
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation--intentional self-harm	--	3	9
Transportation incidents	5	24	69
Aircraft incidents	3	13	37
Other in-flight crash	3	13	37
Other in-flight crash into structure, object, or ground	3	6	17
Water vehicle incidents	--	5	14
Water vehicle collisions	--	1	3
Fall or jump from water vehicle	--	2	6
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	--	6	17
Roadway noncollision incident	--	6	17
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	--	6	17
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, Alaska, 2015–16

Industry (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	14	35	100
Private industry	12	29	83
Natural resources and mining	--	4	11
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	--	4	11
Forestry and logging	--	1	3
Logging	--	1	3
Fishing, hunting and trapping	--	3	9
Fishing	--	3	9
Fishing	--	3	9
Finfish fishing	--	3	9
Construction	3	2	6
Construction	3	2	6
Construction of buildings	1	1	3
Residential building construction	--	1	3
Residential building construction	--	1	3
Heavy and civil engineering construction	--	1	3
Utility system construction	--	1	3
Water and sewer line and related structures construction	--	1	3
Manufacturing	--	5	14
Manufacturing	--	5	14
Food manufacturing	--	5	14
Seafood product preparation and packaging	--	5	14
Trade, transportation, and utilities	6	10	29
Transportation and warehousing	5	10	29
Air transportation	3	6	17
Scheduled air transportation	3	3	9
Scheduled air transportation	3	3	9
Scheduled passenger air transportation	3	3	9
Nonscheduled air transportation	--	3	9
Nonscheduled air transportation	--	3	9
Nonscheduled chartered passenger air transportation	--	3	9
Water transportation	--	1	3
Deep sea, coastal, and great lakes water transportation	--	1	3
Deep sea, coastal, and great lakes water transportation	--	1	3
Coastal and great lakes freight transportation	--	1	3
Coastal and great lakes passenger transportation	--	1	3
Scenic and sightseeing transportation	--	3	9
Scenic and sightseeing transportation, water	--	1	3
Scenic and sightseeing transportation, other	--	2	6
Professional and business services	--	6	17
Professional and technical services	--	6	17
Professional, scientific, and technical services	--	6	17
Architectural, engineering, and related services	--	6	17
Engineering services	--	2	6
Surveying and mapping (except geophysical) services	--	2	6
Testing laboratories	--	2	6
Leisure and hospitality	--	1	3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	--	1	3
Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries	--	1	3
Other amusement and recreation industries	--	1	3
Other services, except public administration	--	1	3
Other services, except public administration	--	1	3
Repair and maintenance	--	1	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	--	1	3
Automotive mechanical and electrical repair and maintenance	--	1	3
General automotive repair	--	1	3
Government (2)	--	6	17
Federal government	1	2	6
State government	--	1	3
Local government	--	3	9
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, Alaska, 2015–16

Occupation (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	14	35	100
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	6	17
Architects, surveyors, and cartographers	--	3	9
Surveyors, cartographers, and photogrammetrists	--	3	9
Surveyors	--	3	9
Drafters, engineering technicians, and mapping technicians	--	3	9
Drafters	--	1	3
Engineering technicians, except drafters	--	2	6
Personal care and service occupations	--	1	3
Tour and travel guides	--	1	3
Tour and travel guides	--	1	3
Travel guides	--	1	3
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	--	4	11
Fishing and hunting workers	--	3	9
Fishers and related fishing workers	--	3	9
Fishers and related fishing workers	--	3	9
Forest, conservation, and logging workers	--	1	3
Logging workers	--	1	3
Logging equipment operators	--	1	3
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	--	1	3
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	--	1	3
Automotive technicians and repairers	--	1	3
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	--	1	3
Production occupations	--	5	14
Transportation and material moving occupations	6	11	31
Air transportation workers	4	8	23
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	4	8	23
Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers	4	3	9
Commercial pilots	--	5	14
Water transportation workers	--	2	6
Sailors and marine oilers	--	1	3
Sailors and marine oilers	--	1	3
Ship and boat captains and operators	--	1	3
Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels	--	1	3
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, Alaska, 2015–16

Worker characteristics	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	14	35	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	12	32	91
Self-employed (2)	--	3	9
Gender
Men	12	32	91
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	--	4	11
25 to 34 years	--	5	14
35 to 44 years	--	11	31
45 to 54 years	--	4	11
55 to 64 years	6	7	20
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	7	24	69
American Indian or Alaskan Native, non-Hispanic	--	4	11
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.