Fatal work injuries totaled 74 in 2015 for New York City, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that the number of work-related fatalities in New York City declined by five from the previous year. Fatal occupational injuries in the city have ranged from a high of 191 in 1993 to a low of 56 in 2013. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a total of 4,836 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2015, a slight increase from the 4,821 fatal injuries in 2014, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program.

Type of incident

In New York City, falls, slips, and trips accounted for 24 fatal work injuries and violence and other injuries by persons or animals resulted in 23 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 63 percent of all workplace fatalities in New York City. (See table 1.) The number of worker fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips increased by four over the year and deaths from violence and other injuries by persons or animals was little changed from the previous year.

Contact with objects and equipment was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 10 fatalities, up from 8 during the prior year. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in six work-related deaths, little changed from 2014.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2015, accounting for approximately 42 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent type of event (17 percent), followed by contact with objects and equipment (15 percent) and violence and other injuries by persons or animals (15 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the largest number of workplace fatalities in New York City with 25, up from 22 in the previous year. Specialty trade contractors accounted for 17, or 68 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Trade, transportation, and utilities had 15 workplace fatalities, down from 20 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals were the most frequent fatal event in the trade, transportation, and utilities sector with 11 worker deaths. Over one-third of those fatally injured in this sector worked in retail trade.

Occupation

Construction and extraction occupations (23) and transportation and material moving occupations (14) had the highest number of workplace fatalities. (See table 3.) The majority of the fatalities within the construction and extraction group were construction trades workers (18). Motor vehicle operators accounted for 11 of the 14 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers.

Contracted workers

A contractor is defined as a worker employed by one firm but working at the behest of another firm that exercises overall responsibility for the operations at the site of the fatal injury. In 2015, New York City had 18 fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria, up from 14 in 2014.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 95 percent of the work-related fatalities in New York City, similar to the 93-percent national share. (See table 4.) Violence and other injuries by persons or animals made up 31 percent of the fatalities for men in New York City.
• Hispanics or Latinos accounted for 36 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 19 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 66 percent of the city’s work-related fatalities in 2015, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 74 fatal work injuries in New York City, 84 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was falls, trips, and slips. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the most frequent fatal event for the self-employed.

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 2015 data, over 21,400 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 web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.

Federal/State agency coverage. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or was outside the scope of 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.

Acknowledgments. The Bureau of Labor Statistics appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that submitted source documents used to identify fatal work injuries, in particular the New York City government.

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, New York City, 2014–15

Event or exposure (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	79	74	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	25	23	31
Intentional injury by person	23	22	30
Homicides (Intentional injury by other person)	11	15	20
Shooting by other person--intentional	7	10	14
Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing	--	3	4
Suicides (Self-inflicted injury--intentional)	12	7	9
Shooting--intentional self-harm	3	4	5
Transportation incidents	15	9	12
Pedestrian vehicular incident	6	3	4
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	7	5	7
Roadway collision with other vehicle	5	3	4
Fires and explosions	4	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	20	24	32
Falls on same level	--	3	4
Falls to lower level	19	20	27
Fall through surface or existing opening	3	3	4
Other fall to lower level	16	16	22
Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet	--	3	4
Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet	4	3	4
Jumps to lower level	--	1	1
Other jump to lower level	--	1	1
Other jump to lower level more than 30 feet	--	1	1
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	7	6	8
Exposure to other harmful substances	7	5	7
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose	6	5	7
Contact with objects and equipment	8	10	14
Struck by object or equipment	5	4	5
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	--	4	5
Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment	--	3	4
Overexertion and bodily reaction	--	--	--
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, New York City, 2014–15

Industry (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	79	74	100
Private industry	67	67	91
Natural resources and mining	--	--	--
Construction	22	25	34
Construction	22	25	34
Construction of buildings	7	5	7
Residential building construction	--	5	7
Residential building construction	--	5	7
Residential remodelers	--	3	4
Specialty trade contractors	14	17	23
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	6	8	11
Poured concrete foundation and structure contractors	--	5	7
Building equipment contractors	7	4	5
Other specialty trade contractors	--	4	5
Site preparation contractors	--	4	5
Manufacturing	3	5	7
Manufacturing	3	5	7
Food manufacturing	--	3	4
Chemical manufacturing	--	1	1
Paint, coating, and adhesive manufacturing	--	1	1
Paint and coating manufacturing	--	1	1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	20	15	20
Retail trade	9	6	8
Food and beverage stores	5	3	4
General merchandise stores	--	1	1
Other general merchandise stores	--	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	9	9	12
Transit and ground passenger transportation	5	6	8
Taxi and limousine service	5	6	8
Taxi service	5	5	7
Information	--	--	--
Financial activities	5	3	4
Finance and insurance	--	1	1
Credit intermediation and related activities	--	1	1
Nondepository credit intermediation	--	1	1
Other nondepository credit intermediation	--	1	1
Consumer lending	--	1	1
Professional and business services	5	5	7
Administrative and waste services	3	3	4
Administrative and support services	--	3	4
Educational and health services	3	3	4
Leisure and hospitality	5	4	5
Accommodation and food services	4	4	5
Food services and drinking places	3	4	5
Restaurants and other eating places	3	4	5
Restaurants and other eating places	3	4	5
Full-service restaurants	1	3	4
Limited-service restaurants	--	1	1
Other services, except public administration	4	5	7
Other services, except public administration	4	5	7
Repair and maintenance	--	--	--
Automotive repair and maintenance	--	--	--
Other automotive repair and maintenance	--	1	1
Car washes	--	1	1
Personal and laundry services	--	3	4
Government (2)	12	7	9
Federal government	--	1	1
State government	3	3	4
Local government	--	3	4
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, New York City, 2014–15

Occupation (1)	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	79	74	100
Management occupations	7	6	8
Other management occupations	6	5	7
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	--	--
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--	--
Community and social services occupations	--	--	--
Legal occupations	--	--	--
Education, training, and library occupations	--	--	--
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	--	--
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	--	--
Healthcare support occupations	--	--	--
Protective service occupations	5	7	9
Law enforcement workers	4	4	5
Police officers	4	3	4
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	4	3	4
Other protective service workers	--	3	4
Security guards and gaming surveillance officers	--	3	4
Security guards	--	3	4
Food preparation and serving related occupations	--	3	4
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	--	--	--
Personal care and service occupations	--	--	--
Sales and related occupations	6	5	7
Supervisors of sales workers	4	3	4
First-line supervisors of sales workers	4	3	4
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	3	3	4
Retail sales workers	--	--	--
Retail salespersons	--	1	1
Retail salespersons	--	1	1
Office and administrative support occupations	3	--	--
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	--	--	--
Construction and extraction occupations	20	23	31
Construction trades workers	15	18	24
Construction laborers	6	12	16
Construction laborers	6	12	16
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	--	--
Production occupations	4	5	7
Supervisors of production workers	--	3	4
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	--	3	4
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	--	3	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	20	14	19
Motor vehicle operators	10	11	15
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	4	4	5
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	5	6	8
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	5	6	8
Material moving workers	8	3	4
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupational Classification system, 2010.
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 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, New York City, 2014–15

Worker characteristics	2014	2015
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	79	74	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	62	62	84
Self-employed (2)	17	12	16
Gender
Men	72	70	95
Women	7	4	5
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	6	4	5
25 to 34 years	14	19	26
35 to 44 years	19	13	18
45 to 54 years	10	17	23
55 to 64 years	22	11	15
65 years and over	8	9	12
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	28	20	27
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	9	19	26
Hispanic or Latino	32	27	36
Asian, non-Hispanic	10	5	7
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.