Workplace deaths decrease 6 percent in 2007: BLS

Sep 09, 2008

Fewer workers were killed on the job in 2007 than in 2006, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' annual Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries released Aug. 20. A total of 5,488 fatal worker injuries were recorded in the United States in 2007, compared with 5,840 in 2006, BLS said.

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao issued a statement calling the report "continued evidence" that Bush administration policies to protect workers' safety and health are working.

The report also found:

• The construction industry continued to incur the most fatalities of any industry in the private sector: 1,178.
• The number of fatal workplace falls in 2007 rose to a census series high of 835 – a 39 percent increase since 1992.
• Fatal occupational injuries among African-American workers reached their highest level since 1999, but fatal work injuries among Hispanic workers fell 8 percent in 2007.

Revised data for 2007 will be released in April 2009.