Fatal work injuries totaled 26 in 2019 for Hawaii, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Dennis Reid noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Hawaii was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 41 in 2001 to a low of 11 in 2013.

Nationwide, a total of 5,333 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2019, a 2-percent increase from the 5,250 in 2018, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. The 5,333 fatal occupational injuries in 2019 represents the largest annual number since 2007.

Fatal event or exposure

In Hawaii, transportation incidents resulted in 12 fatal work injuries. This major category accounted for 46 percent of all workplace fatalities in the state. (See table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were up from five over the year.

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent fatal work event with five fatalities, unchanged from the prior year. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in four work-related death, the same as in 2018.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2019, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16 percent).

Industry

The private educational services industry had the highest number of fatalities in Hawaii with seven. (See table 2.) The sports and recreation instruction sector accounted for 6 of the 7 workplace fatalities in the educational services industry

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of workplace fatalities with five. (See table 3.) Commercial pilots accounted for 3 of the 5 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The educational instruction and library occupational group had the second highest number of workplace fatalities with four, followed by construction and extraction occupations with three fatalities.

Additional highlights:

• Men accounted for 96 percent of the work-related fatalities in Hawaii, compared to the 92 percent the national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 44 percent of the fatalities for men in Hawaii.
• Asian non-Hispanics accounted for 27 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 3 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 65 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2019, compared to 55 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

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 2019 national data, over 25,100 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 https://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 Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations 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; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Hawaii, 2018–19

Event or exposure (1)	2018	2019
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	22	26	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	5	5	19
Intentional injury by person	5	5	19
Intentional injury by other person	4	2	8
Shooting by other person--intentional	1	2	8
Self-inflicted injury--intentional	--	3	12
Shooting--intentional self-harm	--	1	4
Transportation incidents	5	12	46
Aircraft incidents	--	8	31
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	--	6	23
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing--into structure, object, or ground	--	6	23
Other in-flight crash	--	2	8
Other in-flight crash due to mechanical failure	--	1	4
Other in-flight crash into structure, object, or ground	--	1	4
Water vehicle incidents	1	1	4
Capsized or sinking water vehicle	--	1	4
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	--	1	4
Roadway collision with other vehicle	--	1	4
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	--	1	4
Fires and explosions	--	1	4
Fires	--	1	4
Falls, slips, trips	5	--	--
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	4	4	15
Contact with objects and equipment	3	--	--
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. 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, Hawaii, 2019

Industry (1)	Number	Percent
Total	26	100
Private industry (2)	20	77
Goods producing	--	--
Natural resources and mining	1	4
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	1	4
Crop production	1	4
Fruit and tree nut farming	1	4
Noncitrus fruit and tree nut farming	1	4
Construction	3	12
Construction	3	12
Service providing (3)	--	--
Trade, transportation, and utilities	--	--
Wholesale trade	1	4
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	1	4
Miscellaneous durable goods merchant wholesalers	1	4
Recyclable material merchant wholesalers	1	4
Transportation and warehousing	4	15
Scenic and sightseeing transportation	2	8
Scenic and sightseeing transportation, other	2	8
Financial activities	--	--
Professional and business services	--	--
Educational and health services	7	27
Educational services	7	27
Educational services	7	27
Elementary and secondary schools	1	4
Elementary and secondary schools	1	4
Other schools and instruction	6	23
Sports and recreation instruction	6	23
Leisure and hospitality	--	--
Other services, except public administration	--	--
Government (4)	6	23
Federal government	--	--
State government	2	8
Local government	--	--
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, Hawaii, 2019

Occupation (1)	Number	Percent
Total	26	100
Management occupations	--	--
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	--
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--
Community and social service occupations	--	--
Legal occupations	--	--
Educational instruction and library occupations	4	15
Other teachers and instructors	4	15
Self-enrichment teachers	4	15
Self-enrichment teachers	4	15
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	1	4
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	--
Healthcare support occupations	--	--
Protective service occupations	--	--
Food preparation and serving related occupations	1	4
Supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	1	4
Supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	1	4
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	1	4
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	--	--
Personal care and service occupations	1	4
Other personal care and service workers	1	4
Recreation and fitness workers	1	4
Sales and related occupations	--	--
Office and administrative support occupations	--	--
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	1	4
Agricultural workers	1	4
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	1	4
Agricultural equipment operators	1	4
Construction and extraction occupations	3	12
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	--	--
Production occupations	--	--
Transportation and material moving occupations	5	19
Air transportation workers	3	12
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	3	12
Commercial pilots	3	12
Military specific occupations (2)	1	4
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. (2) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed.
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, Hawaii, 2018–19

Worker characteristics	2018	2019
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	22	26	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	20	--	--
Self-employed (2)	2	--	--
Gender
Men	18	25	96
Women	4	1	4
Age (3)
20 to 24 years	2	1	4
25 to 34 years	--	7	27
35 to 44 years	--	5	19
45 to 54 years	6	5	19
55 to 64 years	3	6	23
65 years and over	7	2	8
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	5	6	23
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	--	--	--
Hispanic or Latino	--	--	--
Asian, non-Hispanic	5	7	27
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.