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News Release Information

22-519-SAN
Thursday, March 24, 2022

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Fatal Work Injuries in Arizona – 2020

Fatal work injuries totaled 97 in 2020 for Arizona, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Arizona was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 118 in 2000 to a low of 55 in 1993.

Nationwide, a total of 4,764 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2020, an 11-percent decrease from 5,333 in 2019, 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.

Chart 1
Fatal event or exposure

In Arizona, transportation incidents resulted in 30 fatal work injuries and exposure to harmful substances or environments accounted for 25 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 57 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 39 over the year and worker fatalities due to exposure to harmful substances or environments were up from 10.

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 17 fatalities, up from 14 in the prior year. Contact with objects or equipment resulted in 14 work-related deaths compared to 11 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).

Chart 2
Industry

The private transportation and warehousing industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Arizona with 22. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents resulted in 16 of the 22 fatalities in the industry. The general freight trucking industry group accounted for 12 of the 22 fatal workplace injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry.

The private construction industry sector had 20 fatal workplace injuries. The construction of buildings subsector accounted for seven, or 35 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 28. (See table 3.) Motor vehicle operators accounted for 22 of the 28 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 25. Construction laborers suffered eight of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction occupational group.

Additional highlights:
  • Men accounted for 92 percent of the work-related fatalities in Arizona, the same as the national share. (See table 4.)
  • Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 42 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 23 percent of work-related deaths.
  • Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 64 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2020, compared to 56 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
  • Of the 97 fatal work injuries in Arizona, 88 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event was transportation incidents for wage and salary workers and contact with objects and equipment for self-employed workers.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and 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 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 thanks the Industrial Commission of Arizona 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, Arizona, 2019–20
Event or exposure (1)20192020
NumberNumberPercent

Total

9497100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

141718

Intentional injury by person

121515

Injury by person--unintentional or intent unknown

--11

Animal and insect related incidents

--11

Struck by animal

--11

Trampled by or stepped on by animal

--11

Transportation incidents

393031

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

211819

Roadway collision with other vehicle

1699

Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly

--11

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

355

Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway

355

Roadway noncollision incident

--44

Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway

--44

Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles

555

Falls, slips, trips

1899

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

102526

Exposure to temperature extremes

--66

Exposure to environmental heat

--66

Exposure to other harmful substances

61414

Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose

--1414

Contact with objects and equipment

111414

Struck by object or equipment

588

Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport

--55

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

--33

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 https://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, Arizona, 2020
Industry (1)20192020
NumberNumberPercent

Total

9497100

Private industry (2)

838588

Goods producing

------

Natural resources and mining

5----

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

533

Construction

232021

Construction

232021

Construction of buildings

--77

Residential building construction

--44

Residential building construction

--44

Service providing (3)

------

Trade, transportation, and utilities

------

Retail trade

--77

Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, and book stores

--11

Transportation and warehousing

192223

Air transportation

--22

Nonscheduled air transportation

--22

Nonscheduled air transportation

--22

Truck transportation

121819

General freight trucking

111212

General freight trucking, long-distance

91010

General freight trucking, long-distance, truckload

777

Specialized freight trucking

166

Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, long-distance

144

Professional and business services

8----

Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

888

Administrative and support services

688

Investigation and security services

--11

Investigation, guard, and armored car services

--11

Services to buildings and dwellings

--55

Landscaping services

--55

Educational and health services

------

Educational services

111

Educational services

111

Elementary and secondary schools

--11

Elementary and secondary schools

--11

Leisure and hospitality

--88

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

--44

Accommodation and food services

--44

Other services, except public administration

644

Other services, except public administration

644

Repair and maintenance

444

Automotive repair and maintenance

--44

Government (4)

111212

Federal government

733

State government

--22

Local government

477

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 https://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 https://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, Arizona, 2020
Occupation (1)20192020
NumberNumberPercent

Total

9497100

Management occupations

344

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

222

Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers

222

Athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers

--22

Athletes and sports competitors

--22

Protective service occupations

466

Other protective service workers

--11

Security guards and gambling surveillance officers

--11

Security guards

--11

Food preparation and serving related occupations

--33

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

566

Grounds maintenance workers

366

Grounds maintenance workers

366

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

433

Construction and extraction occupations

202526

Supervisors of construction and extraction workers

--11

First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

--11

First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

--11

Construction trades workers

182122

Construction laborers

988

Construction laborers

988

Construction equipment operators

--55

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

--55

Roofers

311

Roofers

311

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

1277

Production occupations

--44

Transportation and material moving occupations

272829

Motor vehicle operators

202223

Material moving workers

533

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 https://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 https://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, Arizona, 2019–20
Worker characteristics20192020
NumberNumberPercent

Total

9497100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

808588

Self-employed (2)

141212

Gender

Men

928992

Women

--88

Age (3)

25 to 34 years

171819

35 to 44 years

182728

45 to 54 years

201718

55 to 64 years

192627

65 years and over

1566

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White, non-Hispanic

364243

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

--33

Hispanic or Latino

394142

Asian, non-Hispanic

566

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 https://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 24, 2022