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Workplace fatalities fell 10 percent in 2008

Workplace deaths fell 10 percent to 5,071 in 2008, which is the smallest amount of fatalities since the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) started keeping records in 1992, according to The Wall Street Journal. Much of the decline is being attributed to the recession, which forced employers to trim hours and lay off employees, so actual safety improvement is difficult to gauge.

The DOL used a new methodology to determine the rate of fatal work injuries was 3.6 per 100,000 full-time workers in 2008 compared with four per 100,000 in 2007. The new figures only go back to 2006, when the rate was 4.2 per 100,000 workers.

The construction industry historically has contributed significantly to the number of fatalities, and the industry faced sharp declines in employment during the recession. Private-sector construction deaths dropped 20 percent from 2007, but the construction industry still reported the most private-sector deaths.

Transportation-related fatalities, which made up 40 percent of all workplace fatalities, fell 13 percent to 2,053, which is a new low. The number of fatal falls declined 20 percent.

When the DOL updates its 2008 data in April 2010, the number of fatalities still could rise because state budget constraints may have prevented some government agencies from processing fatality data on time.

9/13/2009  

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