Work-related deaths in government rise a little

The National Safety Council’s “Injury Facts, 2009 Edition” reports that governments had a total of 412 unintentional work deaths in the latest year reported (2007), which is 1 percent higher than the number of deaths in 2006. Governments accounted for 8.8 percent of all 4,689 reported unintentional work deaths in the United States in 2007, according to the Itasca, Ill.-based National Safety Council (NSC). The NSC cited data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in its report.

The number of accidental deaths in government per 100,000 workers is 1.8, which is 2 percent less than the year-earlier rate. Across all workplaces and industries in the United States, the rate of unintentional injury-deaths is 3.2 per 100,000. The rate in governments is lower than the rate in a variety of industries, including construction, mining and transportation/warehousing, but higher than the rate reported in financial services, retail trade and several other industries.

A total of 510,000 disabling injuries were reported among government workers, according to NSC’s 2009 report, which estimated the size of the government work force at 22.2 million.

NSC’s “Injury Facts, 2009 Edition” includes new information and statistics on ladder-related injuries and outdoor recreational injuries.

Order NSC’s Injury Facts, 2009 Edition report. View NSC’s home page.