http://www.laborradio.org/node/14051Submitted by Doug Cunningham on August 19, 2010 - 3:20pm
Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly versionSend to friendSend to friend
Fatalities on the job were down for the second year in a row. Jesse Russell reports:
Workplace deaths are at their lowest levels since 1992. The Labor Department reported on Thursday that workplace fatalities plummeted by 17 percent in 2009. There were 4,340 workplace fatalities in 2009 and the second straight years that number has dropped to a historic low. The department speculates that the impact of the recession on high risk jobs like construction could be a factor in the drop. 17.3 percent of the construction sector is unemployed. Commercial fishing continues to be the deadliest profession with a fatality rate 60 times higher than the overall average. Workplace homicides also declined by one percent in 2009. There were 521 workplace homicides, well below the high of 1,080 reached in 1994.