Workplace Death Rate in Virginia Sees Little Improvement

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The rate of fatal workplace injuries across the country has dropped slightly, but Virginia's rate was unchanged in the year-over-year data just released by the U.S. Department of Labor. Virginia's death rate remained at 2.8 for every 100,000 workers.

The department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics' new data related to fatal occupational injuries compared new 2015 numbers to the previous year. The total number of deaths nationally climbed to 4,836 — up 15 from the previous year. But, the death rate dropped from 3.43 for every 100,000 workers to 3.38 for every 100,000 workers.

Virginia's number of fatal injuries dropped year-over-year, down to 106 from 116 the previous year. But the death rate was unchanged, according to the federal data. Overall, Virginia is ranked 16th in the total number of deaths and 35th in the rate of deaths.

Five large states accounted for more than 1,500 of the workers who died on the job in 2015: Texas, California, Florida, New York and Ohio. The death rates, not surprisingly, were worse in states with smaller workforce populations, including North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

The rise in fatalities was slight nationwide year-over-year, but the bureau said the number recorded in 2015 was the highest since 2008 when 5,214 fatal injuries occurred in workplaces across the country.

Some of the data on Virginia's workplace fatalities:

• 34 percent involved transportation-related incidents.
• 98 of the 106 deaths were men.
• 13 of the 106 deaths were due to violence.

The rate of non-fatal workplace injuries in Virginia, released in November, is 2.6 for every 100 workers.

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers experienced more fatalities nationwide in 2015 than workers in any other occupation, the bureau said. The number was 745. The private construction industry as a whole (all occupations considered) also saw 937 fatal work injuries in 2015. The bureau said that number is the highest since 2008 when 975 workers died.

Older workers accounted for fewer deaths in 2015 than they did in 2014. Even so, the 650 deaths involving workers age 65 and older in 2015 was "the second-largest number for the group since the national census began in 1992,” the agency reported. The number in 2014 was 684.

The census also looked at how workers died with transportation-related incidents topping the list over the year. The total number was 2,054, which includes aircraft, roadway, rail and pedestrian-related accidents.

Falls, slips and trips were blamed in 800 deaths across the country with violence and other injuries accounting for 703 deaths. The number of workplace-related homicides was 417 in 2015, up from 409 in 2014. Suicides in the workplace dropped from 280 nationally in 2014 to 229 in 2015.

To check out the full report, visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics online.

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