WASHINGTON–The number of fatal injuries occurring at work in 2005 fell slightly from the prior year, according to a new report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The numbers reported in the "2005 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries" represent the third-lowest level since the bureau started tracking workplace fatalities, according to Edwin G. Foulke Jr., the assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
A drop in the death rate is consistent with a continuing decline in the count of job injuries by the workers' compensation insurance sector. Earlier this year the National Council on Compensation Insurance reported that the frequency rate for injuries had declined 30 percent over the past decade.
The total number of workplace deaths fell to 5,702 in 2005, down from 5,764 the year before. Those numbers equal roughly 4 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2005 and 4.1 per 100,000 workers in 2004.
Decreases in fatalities are particularly pronounced in some areas. Fatal falls, for example, decreased 7 percent from 2004′s record high of 822. Although private construction remained the most deadly industry, the report noted that fatalities in that field decreased by 4 percent between 2004 and 2005.
"Many of our initiatives to reduce workplace fatalities are showing tremendous successes, but there is still more work to do," said Mr. Foulke, adding that the data reveals "areas where our resources must be focused in order to eliminate fatalities on the job. We remain committed to doing just that."
Some demographics bucked the trend of decreasing fatalities, most notably younger workers and those in agriculture. Although they represent a small portion of the overall number of deaths, the 166 fatalities of workers under age 20 represented an increase of 18 percent from 2004. Fatalities in the agriculture industry numbered 178 in 2005, a 23 percent increase over the 145 that occurred in 2004.
Under the heading "Finance and Insurance," the report counted 42 workplace fatalities with an equal percentage, 26 percent, resulting from highway accidents and homicide. An additional 7 percent of those fatalities were the result of falls, and the causes of the remaining percentage were not listed.
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