September 7, 2007—The rate of fatal workplace injuries in 2006 dropped to its lowest level since the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began conducting its fatality census in 1992, the bureau reported in August.
According to BLS, 5,703 fatal work injuries occurred in the United States in 2006, down from 5,734 fatalities in 2005. That resulted in a rate of fatal work injuries of 3.9 per 100,000 workers, down from a rate of 4.0 per 100,000 in 2005.
Workplace homicides also fell to a new low, dropping 9 percent. Additionally, fatalities among workers under 25 years of age fell 9 percent, and the rate of fatal injury among these workers was down significantly.
While fatal highway incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal work-related accident, accounting for nearly one out of four fatal work injuries, the number of highway incidents fell 8 percent in 2006.
For more information, see the BLS report.
