Fatal work injuries totaled 29 in 2016 for Hawaii, 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 Hawaii increased from the 18 fatalities in the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 41 in 2001 to a low of 11 in 2013. (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 Hawaii, transportation incidents resulted in 20 fatal work injuries and falls, slips and trips accounted for 5 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 86 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) The number of worker deaths from transportation incidents rose by 14 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

Among private industry, the construction sector had the highest number of fatalities in Hawaii with four, compared to three in the previous year. (See table 2.) Trade, transportation, and utilities had three worker deaths, and the educational and health services industry accounted for two fatalities.

Fifteen of the 17 workplace fatalities in the public sector occurred in federal government.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of private industry workplace fatalities with four. (See table 3.) Construction and extraction, and protective service occupations each accounted for three workplace fatalities.

Additional highlights:

• Men accounted for all of the work-related fatalities in Hawaii. Nationally, men accounted for 93 percent of the workplace fatalities. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 69 percent of the fatalities for men in Hawaii.
• White non-Hispanics accounted for 62 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 55 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2016, compared to 57 percent nationwide.

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/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.

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, Hawaii, 2015–16

Event or exposure (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	18	29	100
Transportation incidents	6	20	69
Aircraft incidents	2	15	52
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	2	3	10
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing--into structure, object, or ground	2	3	10
Other in-flight crash	--	12	41
Water vehicle incidents	1	1	3
Fall or jump from water vehicle	--	1	3
Falls, slips, trips	3	5	17
Falls to lower level	3	3	10
Other fall to lower level	--	3	10
Other fall to lower level 6 to 10 feet	--	1	3
Contact with objects and equipment	--	1	3
Struck by object or equipment	--	1	3
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	--	1	3
Caught between rolling powered vehicle and other object	--	1	3
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, Hawaii, 2015–16

Industry (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	18	29	100
Private industry	12	12	41
Construction	3	4	14
Construction	3	4	14
Construction of buildings	--	1	3
Residential building construction	--	1	3
Residential building construction	--	1	3
New single-family housing construction (except for-sale builders)	--	1	3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3	3	10
Utilities	1	1	3
Utilities	1	1	3
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution	1	1	3
Electric power generation	1	1	3
Biomass electric power generation	--	1	3
Educational and health services	--	2	7
Educational services	--	2	7
Educational services	--	2	7
Other schools and instruction	--	2	7
Sports and recreation instruction	--	2	7
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	1	3
Other services, except public administration	1	1	3
Repair and maintenance	--	1	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	--	1	3
Other automotive repair and maintenance	--	1	3
Car washes	--	1	3
Government (2)	6	17	59
Federal government	--	15	52
State government	--	1	3
Local government	1	1	3
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, Hawaii, 2015–16

Occupation (1)	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	18	29	100
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	1	3
Computer occupations	--	1	3
Software developers and programmers	--	1	3
Software developers, systems software	--	1	3
Education, training, and library occupations	--	2	7
Other teachers and instructors	--	2	7
Self-enrichment education teachers	--	2	7
Self-enrichment education teachers	--	2	7
Protective service occupations	1	3	10
Fire fighting and prevention workers	--	1	3
Firefighters	--	1	3
Firefighters	--	1	3
Construction and extraction occupations	6	3	10
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	--	1	3
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	--	1	3
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	--	1	3
Transportation and material moving occupations	1	4	14
Air transportation workers	--	1	3
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	--	1	3
Commercial pilots	--	1	3
Military specific occupations (2)	2	14	48
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, Hawaii, 2015–16

Worker characteristics	2015	2016
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	18	29	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	18	28	97
Self-employed (2)	--	--	--
Gender
Men	18	29	100
Women	--	--	--
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	--	8	28
25 to 34 years	8	9	31
35 to 44 years	1	3	10
45 to 54 years	--	4	14
55 to 64 years	5	3	10
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	5	18	62
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	--	--	--
Hispanic or Latino	3	--	--
Asian, non-Hispanic	--	4	14
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.