New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics release Thursday indicates that workplace deaths could reach their highest level since 2008.
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries found that 4,679 workers suffered fatal injuries in 2014. That figure will be undergo a final revision in the spring of 2016, when the BLS will likely add a few hundred deaths to that estimate. That means the total for 2014 is likely to surpass the 4,700 recorded in 2009 and 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal.
That said, the number of deaths per 100,000 workers—3.3—stayed steady from 2013 to 2014.
The BLS said that falls, slips, and trip accidents that resulted in deaths increased 10% to 793 in 2014. There were also more fatalities in mining (up 17%), agriculture (14%), manufacturing (9%), and construction (6%), while at-work deaths for government workers were down 12%.
Women incurred 13% more fatal work injuries in 2014 versus the previous year, yet they made up just 8% of workplace deaths.
After increasing for several years, fatal occupational injuries among Hispanic or Latino workers dropped in 2014 as those among white, African American, and Asian workers rose.
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