The rate of fatal work injuries in 2006 was 3.9 per 100,000 workers

The rate of fatal workplace injuries in the US fell slightly in 2006 to lower than the rate for any year since the census was first conducted in 1992.

There were 5,703 fatal work injuries in the US in 2006, down slightly from the revised total of 5,734 fatalities in 2005. The rate of fatal work injuries in 2006 was 3.9 per 100,000 workers, down from a rate of 4.0 per 100,000 in 2005. The numbers reported in this release are preliminary and will be updated in April 2008.

Key findings of the 2006 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries:

The overall fatal work injury rate for the U.S. in 2006 was lower than the rate for any year since the fatality census was first conducted in 1992.

Coal mining industry fatalities more than doubled in 2006, due to the Sago Mine disaster and other multiple-fatality coal mining incidents.

The number of workplace homicides in 2006 was a series low and reflected a decline of over 50 percent from the high reported in 1994.

Fatalities among workers under 25 years of age fell 9 percent, and the rate of fatal injury among these workers was down significantly.

The 937 fatal work injuries involving Hispanic or Latino workers in 2006 was a series high, but the overall fatality rate for Hispanic or Latino workers was lower than in 2005.

Fatalities among self-employed workers declined 11 percent and reached a series low in 2006.

Aircraft-related fatalities were up 44 percent, led by a number of multiple-fatality events including the August 2006 Comair crash.

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