Occupational Injury Mortality Rates in the United States:
Changes from 1980 to 1989
To identify worker groups that have experienced the greatest reduction in risk of death on the job and those for which occupational injury prevention efforts are most needed, this study examines changes in occupational injury mortality rates over the 1980s by demographic characteristics, industry, and cause of death.
Rates for each characteristic by year are displayed in tables to facilitate assessment and interpretation of rate magnitude and differentials. Death certificates capture an average of 81% of fatal occupational injuries,9 so both the numbers and the rates of deaths presented here are conservative.
The National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities surveillance system, a nationwide, death certificate-based census of deaths resulting from injuries at work, was the source of data for this study. Case subjects in the surveillance system meet the following criteria: 16 years of age or older, an external cause of death, and the injury-at-work item on the certificate marked "yes." Methods and details of this surveillance system have been well described. Because no single source of employment data provides information on demographic, geographic, and employment characteristics of workers, occupational mortality rates were computed with several different sources of denominator data. Rates for demographic characteristics (sex, race, age) were calculated with annual average employment data published by the Bureau. of Labor Statistics from household surveys.Rates for Standard Industrial Classification industry sectors and cause-of-death groups were computed with data from County Business Pattems, supplemented with data from the Census of Agriculture for agricultural production and from the Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey for public administration. Military cases were excluded because comparable denominator data were lacking. All rates presented here are annual average rates per 100000 civilian workers ([annual number of deaths/annual number employed] x 100000). Percentage of change in rates from 1980 to 1989 are presented for demographic, employment, and cause-of-death groups.