U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 1

Assaults and Violent Acts in the Private Retail Trade Sector, 2003—2008

by Joyce Northwood

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Originally Posted: December 7, 2011

From 2003 to 2008, there were 944 homicides and 8,700 nonfatal assaults by persons in the retail trade sector. During this

period, homicides were the leading cause of work-related deaths in the sector. Nearly two-thirds of these homicides occurred

in two types of retail establishments: food and beverage stores and gasoline stations. The majority of the victims in these

cases were foreign born, and 77 percent of the assailants were robbers. This article examines safety and health statistics in

the retail trade sector—covering both fatal and nonfatal workplace injuries—and focuses particularly on injuries resulting from

violent acts.

The retail trade sector is a relatively safe industry in which to work, accounting for only 6 percent of total fatal occupational

injuries and 14 percent of nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2008. However, certain characteristics of the industry—such as

direct contact with the public and the exchange of money—make these workers vulnerable to injury from criminal activity. In

2008, there were 117 homicides and 980 nonfatal assaults in the private retail trade sector.

This article examines some of the characteristics of the retail trade sector1 of the U.S. economy. It uses data from the BLS 

Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program—both the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) and the Survey of

Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII)—to analyze the sectors safety and health record, in terms of fatal and nonfatal

workplace injuries. The article focuses particularly on injuries resulting from violent acts.

The Industry At A Glance

The retail trade sector comprises establishments engaged in purchasing items from suppliers or wholesalers and reselling

them to the public for a profit. In 2008, retail sales in the United States were almost $4.4 trillion,2 accounting for

approximately 6 percent of domestic value added in the economy.3 There were over 16.5 million people employed in retail

trade, or 11 percent of the workforce.4 In 2007, there were over 1.1 million retail establishments,5 and 84 percent of these

were small businesses with fewer than 20 employees.6 These smallest establishments employed approximately 33 percent

of all workers in the sector.

Retail workers face several risk factors associated with their jobs, including contact with the public, the exchange of money,

delivery of goods and services, working alone or in small numbers, and working late at night or during the early morning

hours.7 Most retail salespersons and cashiers work at cash registers and take payments from customers. Those retail

employees who work for the smallest establishments are the most likely to work alone or with a few coworkers. In 2005, over

three-fifths of all establishments with 10 or fewer workers in the retail trade sector reported that their employees worked in

small numbers.8

Five percent of all retail establishments reported an incident of criminal violence in 2005, compared with 2 percent for all

industries combined.9 In 2008, almost 36,000 robberies occurred at gasoline stations and convenience stores alone.10 In

addition, organized crime is a growing problem for retailers, with 85 percent of all retailers reporting having been victimized in

2008.11 These crimes involve large quantities of goods being stolen from retail establishments and resold through flea

markets, pawn shops, Internet sites, and swap meets.

Fatal Occupational Injuries

Fatal injuries: counts and rates. During the years 2003 through 2008, there was a combined total of 2,129 fatal work

injuries in the private retail trade industry. The year with the highest number was 2005, with 400 fatal injuries, and the year

with the lowest was 2008, with 301. Although the sector accounted for 12 percent of all U.S. employment during that period, it

accounted for only 6 percent of all fatal injuries. This industry has a low rate of fatal occupational injury compared with many
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 2

other industries.12 For all private industries in 2008, the rate was 3.7 per 100,000 full time equivalent workers. As can be

seen in table 1, the overall rate for service-providing industries is less than half the rate for goods-producing industries (2.8

versus 7.6). For the private retail trade industry, the fatal injury rate (2.0) is lower than the rate for all service industries

combined (2.8). However, for several types of stores within the retail sector, the rate is much higher. For example, gasoline

stations have a fatal injury rate that is almost 4 times greater (7.7).

Table 1. Fatal occupational injury rates, selected industries, 2006—2008

Industry 2006 2007 2008

Total 4.2 4.0 3.7

Private industry 4.5 4.3 4.0

Goods producing 8.2 7.7 7.6

Service providing 3.2 3.1 2.8

Retail trade 2.4 2.4 2.0

Automobile dealers 2.8 1.9 2.2

Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores 3.7 5.5 4.1

Grocery stores 2.6 3.3 2.1

Gasoline stations 10.4 9.2 7.7

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Fatal injuries by event. As shown in table 2, for the years 2003 to 2008 combined, more than half (51 percent) of all fatal

occupational injuries in retail trade were the result of assaults and violent acts, and most of those (87 percent) were

homicides. More than a third of all fatal injuries in retail resulted from a shooting. The next most frequent types of fatal events

were transportation incidents (28 percent), falls (9 percent), and contact with objects and equipment (7 percent).

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by event for private retail trade and all other industries, 2003—2008

Event

Retail trade All other industries

2003—2008 Percent 2003—2008 Percent

All events 2,129 100.0 28,459 100.0

Assaults and violent acts 1,087 51.1 3,196 11.2

Transportation incidents 588 27.6 11,975 42.1

Falls 187 8.8 4,254 14.9

Contact with objects and equipment 149 7.0 5,413 19.0

Exposure to harmful substances or environments 70 3.3 2,665 9.4

Fires and explosions 39 1.8 880 3.1

Other events or exposures 9 (1) 76 (1)

Addendum: assaults and violent acts

Homicides 944 44.3 2,043 7.2

Shooting 779 36.6 1,541 5.4

Footnotes:

(1) Less than 0.5 percent.

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final. As a result of rounding, components may not add to exactly 100 percent.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 3

Event

Retail trade All other industries

2003—2008 Percent 2003—2008 Percent

Stabbing 78 3.7 211 0.7

Hitting, kicking, beating 55 2.6 159 0.6

All other 32 1.5 132 (1)

Suicide, self-inflicted injury 142 6.7 922 3.2

Footnotes:

(1) Less than 0.5 percent.

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final. As a result of rounding, components may not add to exactly 100 percent.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

In contrast, for all other industries in the private sector, transportation accidents were the most frequent fatal injury event,

accounting for 42 percent of the total. In addition, assaults and violent acts represented only 11 percent of the fatal injuries,

with homicides accounting for 7 percent.13

Homicides by occupation. First-line supervisors and managers of sales workers accounted for 45 percent of fatalities in

retail trade. Of the 421 managers killed by homicide, the majority (318) were self-employed. Cashiers accounted for 28

percent of homicides, followed by retail salespeople (11 percent), and transportation and material moving occupations (5

percent). For sales and related occupations, homicides were the leading cause of death on the job. For retail cashiers,

homicides represent 91 percent of work-related fatal injuries; for first-line supervisors, the comparable figure is 65 percent,

and for retail salespeople, 45 percent. (See table 3.)

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries in private retail trade, by occupation, 2003—2008

Occupation

Homicide All other events

Percent homicides

Number Share Number Share

All occupations 944 100.0 1,185 100.0 44.3

Sales and related occupations 810 85.8 447 37.7 64.4

First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers 421 44.6 231 19.5 64.6

Cashiers 264 28.0 25 2.1 91.3

Retail salespersons 105 11.1 127 10.7 45.3

Transportation and material moving occupations 49 5.2 383 32.3 11.3

Office and administrative support occupations 31 3.3 63 5.3 33.0

Installation, maintenance and repair occupations 8 0.8 131 11.1 5.8

All other occupations 46 4.9 161 13.6 22.2

Addendum:

First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers

Self-employed 318 33.7 123 10.4 72.1

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Homicides by demographic group. A disproportionate share of fatal injuries occurred in the retail sector among several

demographic groups: the self-employed, women, and the foreign born. Approximately 5 percent of retail workers were selfemployed in 2008,14 but self-employed workers made up 27 percent of all fatally injured workers in the sector and almost
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 4

two-fifths of all retail homicides during the 2003—2008 period. Homicide is the leading cause of job-related deaths for selfemployed retail trade workers. (See table 4.)

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries in private retail trade, by selected demographics, 2003—2008

Characteristic

All events Homicide

Percent homicides

Number Share Number Share

All workers 2,129 100.0 944 100.0 44.3

Employee status

Wage and salary workers 1,561 73.3 577 61.1 37.0

Self-employed 568 26.7 367 38.9 64.6

Sex

Men 1,849 86.8 779 82.5 42.1

Women 280 13.2 165 17.5 58.9

Native origin

Native born 1,523 71.5 482 51.1 31.6

Foreign born 606 28.5 462 48.9 76.2

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Women were almost half of the retail labor force, but they accounted for a much smaller percent of those killed on the job (13

percent). However, this is almost double the share for all industries combined, in which women accounted for only 7 percent

of total fatal injuries during the 2003—2008 period. Fifty-nine percent of all female retail workers killed on the job died as a

result of a homicide.

Foreign-born workers accounted for almost 30 percent of the workplace fatalities in retail, compared with 17 percent for all

industries. Foreign-born workers in retail accounted for almost half (462) of all workplace homicides (944), and over threefourths of all foreign-born workers that were killed on the job died as a result of homicide.

Among the foreign born, those from India represented the largest proportion (15 percent) of workers who were killed on the

job in the retail sector. Within this group, 9 in 10 work-related deaths were a result of homicide. In contrast, Mexican retail

workers were the second largest group of foreign-born workers killed on the job, but less than half were killed as a result of

homicide. (See table 5.)

Table 5. Fatalities among foreign-born workers in private retail trade, by place of birth, 2003—2008

Place of birth

All events Homicide

Percent homicides

Number Share Number Share

All countries 606 100.0 462 100.0 76.2

India 93 15.3 84 18.2 90.3

Mexico 74 12.2 36 7.8 48.6

Korea 42 6.9 34 7.4 81.0

Pakistan 41 6.8 39 8.4 95.1

Vietnam 25 4.1 21 4.5 84.0

Yemen 25 4.1 24 5.2 96.0

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 5

Place of birth

All events Homicide

Percent homicides

Number Share Number Share

Dominican Republic 19 3.1 16 3.5 84.2

Bangladesh 18 3.0 17 3.7 94.4

Israel 16 2.6 15 3.2 93.8

Jordan 15 2.5 14 3.0 93.3

All other countries 238 39.3 162 35.1 68.1

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Homicides by type of retail establishment. As previously mentioned, several risk factors are associated with occupational

violence in retail trade, including exchanging money with the public, working during the evening hours, and working alone or

in small numbers. Not surprisingly, a substantial share of all homicides in the sector during the 2003—2008 period occurred

in two types of retail establishments, where these risk factors may be higher: food and beverage stores (41 percent) and

gasoline stations (22 percent). These two types of stores accounted for nearly two-thirds of all homicides in the retail sector,

or 599 workers. And while these two store types employed less than 3 percent of the U.S. workforce in 2008,15 they

accounted for 17 percent of all occupational homicides that occurred from 2003 to 2008. (See table 6.)

Table 6. Fatal occupational injuries in private retail trade, by event, 2003—2008

Industry

Homicide All other events

Percent homicides

Number Share Number Share

All retail sales 944 100.0 1,185 100.0 44.3

Food and beverage stores 391 41.4 126 10.6 75.6

Motor vehicle and parts dealers 79 8.4 330 27.8 19.3

Gasoline stations 208 22.0 70 5.9 74.8

Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers 21 2.2 212 17.9 9.0

Miscellaneous stores 43 4.6 89 7.5 32.6

General merchandise stores 46 4.9 78 6.6 37.1

Nonstore retailers 13 1.4 111 9.4 10.5

Clothing and clothing accessories stores 64 6.8 24 2.0 72.7

Furniture and home furnishings stores 14 1.5 46 3.9 23.3

Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores 28 3.0 28 2.4 50.0

Health and personal care stores 19 2.0 34 2.9 35.8

Electronics and appliance stores 15 1.6 27 2.3 35.7

All other 3 (1) 10 0.8 23.1

Addendum:

Food and beverage stores

Grocery stores 322 34.1 92 7.8 77.8

Convenience stores 212 22.5 13 1.1 94.2

Footnotes:

(1) Less than 0.5 percent.

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 6

Industry

Homicide All other events

Percent homicides

Number Share Number Share

Supermarkets and other grocery (exc. convenience) stores 94 10.0 77 6.5 55.0

Beer, wine, and liquor stores 43 4.6 9 0.8 82.7

Footnotes:

(1) Less than 0.5 percent.

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Grocery stores, which are part of the food and beverage stores subsector, accounted for 34 percent of all homicides in retail

trade, with 22 percent occurring in convenience stores. Ninety-four percent of convenience store employees who were killed

on the job died as a result of a homicide. Homicides also accounted for more than four-fifths of fatal occupational injuries in

beer, wine and liquor stores, and three-fourths of all cases that occurred at gasoline stations.

The majority of foreign-born victims of homicide in retail trade (80 percent) worked in either food and beverage stores or

gasoline stations. Of the 391 homicides in food and beverage stores, two-thirds were foreign born. Among the 208 homicides

in gasoline stations, more than half were foreign born. (See table 7.)

Table 7. Homicides of native- and foreign-born retail workers, by type of store, 2003—2008

All workers Foreign born Native born

Number Share Number Share Number Share

All retail 944 100.0 462 100.0 482 100.0

Food and beverage stores 391 41.4 259 56.1 132 27.4

Gasoline stations 208 22.0 109 23.6 99 20.5

All other retail 345 36.5 94 20.3 251 52.1

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

As noted previously, food and beverage stores and gasoline stations have greater risk factors than other types of retail

establishments because their employees are more likely to work late at night or in the early morning. More than half (53

percent), of the homicides in food and beverage stores and in gasoline stations over the 2003—2008 period occurred

between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. For all other types of retail establishments, only 19 percent occurred during

those hours, and more than half occurred between noon and 8:00 p.m. (See chart 1.)
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 7

People who work in food and beverage stores and in gasoline stations were more likely than other victims of occupational

homicide to be killed by a robber. For all private industries combined, 43 percent of homicides involved robberies. The share

is larger in the private retail trade sector, where more than two-thirds of the homicides resulted from robberies. In food and

beverage stores and gasoline stations, 77 percent of the workplace homicides occurred during a robbery. (See table 8.)

Table 8. Homicides in private retail trade, by type of assailant, 2003—2008

Type of assailant

All industries All retail trade Food and beverage stores and gasoline stations

Number Share Number Share Number Share

All 2,987 100.0 944 100.0 599 100.0

Robbers 1,293 43.3 642 68.0 461 77.0

Coworker, former coworker 348 11.7 44 4.7 16 2.7

All other 1,346 45.1 258 27.3 122 20.4

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Nonfatal Occupational Injuries

Nonfatal injuries: counts and rates. During the 2003—2008 period, there was an annual average of 593,100 total

recordable nonfatal workplace illnesses and injuries in the private retail trade sector, with approximately 169,000 injuries and

illnesses resulting in days away from work.16

The rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work is slightly higher in retail trade than in

all industries combined.17 For all private industries in 2008, the rate was 113.3 per 10,000 full-time workers, compared with

120.0 for retail trade. The rate for all service-providing industries (105.1) was lower than the rate for goods-producing

industries (140.0). Still, the rate is quite high for certain types of stores within the retail sector, such as grocery stores, with a

rate of 174.0, and general merchandise stores, with a rate of 152.6. (See table 9.)
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 8

Table 9. Incidence rates for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work per 10,000 fulltime workers, by selected industries, 2008

All events Assaults by person

Private industry 113.3 1.7

Goods producing 140.0 0.2

Service providing 105.1 2.2

Retail trade 120.0 0.8

Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores 141.9 1.2

Grocery stores 174.0 1.2

Gasoline stations 91.9 2.4

Clothing stores 66.3 1.9

General merchandise stores 152.6 1.2

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses

Although the incidence rate for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work is relatively high in

retail trade compared with other service-providing industries, the rate for nonfatal assaults is much lower in retail trade (0.8)

than it is in private industry as a whole (1.7). Again, though, for certain types of retail stores, such as gasoline stations (2.4),

the rates are considerably higher than the sector average.

For those cases in which the time of day is reported, more than 40 percent of nonfatal assaults and violent acts occurred

between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

Nonfatal injuries by event. Over the period from 2003 to 2008, a total of 8,700 retail workers were injured as a result of an

assault. Although assaults are the most common event that causes fatal injuries in retail, they represented only 1 percent of

nonfatal injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work in 2008. (See table 10.) The most frequent events requiring

days away from work in retail trade were bodily reaction and exertion (41 percent), contact with objects and equipment (29

percent), and falls (22 percent).18

Table 10. Number of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work for private retail trade

and all other industries, by events or exposures, 2008

Event

Retail trade All other industries

Number Percent Number Percent

All events 146,320 100.0 931,820 100.0

Bodily reaction and exertion 59,310 40.5 356,380 38.2

Contact with objects and equipment 43,000 29.4 248,880 26.7

Falls 31,680 21.7 203,160 21.8

Transportation incidents 4,250 2.9 44,360 4.8

Exposure to harmful substances or environments 3,650 2.5 41,830 4.5

Assaults and violent acts 1,510 1.0 21,180 2.3

Other events or exposures 2,920 2.0 16,030 1.7

Footnotes:

(1) Less than 0.5 percent

NOTE: Because of rounding and data exclusion of nonclassifiable responses, data may not sum to the total.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 9

Event

Retail trade All other industries

Number Percent Number Percent

Addendum: Assaults and violent acts

Assaults by person 980 0.7 15,350 1.6

Hitting, kicking, beating 320 (1) 6,120 0.7

Squeezing, pinching, scratching, twisting 40 (1) 1,110 (1)

All other 620 (1) 8,120 0.9

Assaults by animals 500 (1) 5,620 0.6

Footnotes:

(1) Less than 0.5 percent

NOTE: Because of rounding and data exclusion of nonclassifiable responses, data may not sum to the total.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses

Assaults by person by type of retail establishment. In 2008, there were 980 assaults in retail trade that required days

away from work. (See table 11.) As with fatal injuries, workers in food and beverage stores and gasoline stations together

made up a substantial share of these injuries from assaults (40 percent). Other types of stores with high shares were general

merchandise stores (29 percent), motor vehicle and parts dealers (13 percent), and clothing and clothing accessories stores

(13 percent).

Table 11. Nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work in private retail trade, by type,

2008

Industry

All events Assaults by

person Assaults as percentage of all nonfatal injuries and

illnesses

Number Share Number Share

All retail sales 146,320 100.0 980 100.0 0.7

Food and beverage stores 36,070 24.7 230 23.5 (1)

General merchandise stores 34,650 23.7 280 28.6 0.8

Motor vehicle and parts dealers 20,720 14.2 130 13.3 0.6

Building material and garden

equipment and supplies dealers 16,860 11.5 20 2.0 (1)

Gasoline stations 6,330 4.3 160 16.3 2.5

Clothing and clothing accessories

stores 5,590 3.8 130 13.3 2.3

Sporting goods, hobby, book, and

music stores 2,690 1.8 20 2.0 0.7

All other 23,410 16.0 10 1.0 (1)

Footnotes:

(1) Less than 0.5 percent

NOTE: Because of rounding and data exclusion of nonclassifiable responses, data may not sum to the total.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 10

Conclusion

Over the period from 2003 to 2008, there were 944 homicides and 8,700 nonfatal assaults by persons resulting in days away

from work in the private retail sector. During this period, homicides were the leading cause of work-related death. Of these

homicides, 63 percent were committed against workers in two types of establishments: food and beverage stores and

gasoline stations. The majority of the victims of homicides in these establishments were foreign born, and 77 percent of the

assailants were robbers. More than half of the homicides and more than 40 percent of nonfatal assaults occurred between

the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Of the nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2008, approximately 40 percent occurred in food

and beverage stores and gasoline stations.

There is some evidence that a relationship exists between occupational homicides and unemployment rates,19 suggesting

that when unemployment rates are high occupational assaults and homicides will increase. As a result, during periods of high

unemployment, retail establishments should consider taking additional steps to keep workers safe from crime.

Joyce Northwood

Economist, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Office of Safety, Health, and Working Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Telephone: (202) 691-6216; E-mail: Northwood.Joyce@bls.gov. Notes

1 In the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), retail trade includes industry sectors 44 and 45. See U.S. Census

Bureau, North American Industry Classification System, 2002 NAICS, http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch?chart=2002. 2 U.S. Census Bureau, “2008 Annual Retail Trade Survey tables,” Annual Retail Trade Survey Historical Data, last modified March 31, 2011, 

http://www2.census.gov/retail/releases/historical/arts/2008_ARTS.pdf. 3 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Gross Domestic Product by Industry Data,” ReadMe for file

GDPbyInd_VA_NAICS_1998-2010, last modified June 2, 2011 http://www.bea.gov/industry/gdpbyind_data.htm. 4 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, 2008 Annual Averages—Household Data—

Tables from Employment and Earnings, table 18, “Employed persons by detailed industry, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity,” ftp://

ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/aa2008/pdf/cpsaat18.pdf. 5 U.S. Census Bureau, The 2010 Statistical Abstract: National Data Book, table 1008, “Wholesale and Retail Trade—Establishments, Sales,

Payroll, and Employees: 2002 and 2007,” http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/tables/10s1008.pdf. 6 U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Economic Census, Retail Trade, “Sector 44: Retail Trade: Subject Series—Estab & Firm Size: Summary

Statistics by Employment Size of Establishments for the United States: 2007,” http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IBQTable?_bm=y&-

geo_id=&-fds_name=EC0700A1&-ds_name=EC0744SSSZ2&-_lang=en. 7 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, “Violence in the Workplace: Risk Factors

and Prevention Strategies,” last modified July 16, 1996, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/violrisk.html. 8 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Workplace Violence Prevention, table 4, “Percent of establishments by selected potentially

hazardous work environment characteristics, industry, and size class, 2005,” last modified October 27, 2006, http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/

ostb1632.pdf. 9 Ibid, table 1, http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/ostb1629.pdf. 10 Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports: 2007 Crime in the United States, table 7, “Offense Analysis: United States, 2004—

2008,” http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2008. 11 National Retail Federation, 2008 Organized Retail Crime Survey, p. 4, http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?

name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=664&parent_id=950&peer_rev=0&nrf_or=0. 12 The rate represents the number of fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers and is calculated as follows:

(N÷EH) × 200,000,000, where 

N = the number of fatal work injuries, 

EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year, and 

200,000,000 = base for 100,000 equivalent full-time workers working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Page 11

13 For a detailed analysis of transportation fatalities in the mining sector, see Christopher A. Janicak, “Transportation Fatalities in the Mining

Sector: 2004-2008,” Compensation and Working Conditions Online, http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/sh20110712ar01p1.htm. 14 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, 2008 Annual Averages—Household Data—

Tables from Employment and Earnings, table 16, “Employed persons in nonagricultural industries by sex and class of worker,” ftp://ftp.bls.gov/

pub/special.requests/lf/aa2008/pdf/cpsaat16.pdf. 15 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, 2008 Annual Averages—Household Data—

Tables from Employment and Earnings, table 18, “Employed persons by detailed industry, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity,” ftp://

ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/aa2008/pdf/cpsaat18.pdf. 16 Days away from work cases include those that resulted in days away from work, some of which also included job transfer or restriction.

17 Incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 10,000 full-time workers and are calculated as follows:

(N÷EH) × 20,000, where 

N = number of injuries and illnesses, 

EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year, and 

20,000,000 = base for 10,000 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year).

18 For a more detailed analysis of the types of injuries and illnesses that occur in grocery stores, see Cynthia M. Clarke, “Workplace Injuries

and Illnesses in Grocery Stores,” Compensation and Working Conditions Online, December 19, 2009, http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/

sh20031216ar01p1.htm. 19 Christopher A. Janicak, “Regional Variations in Workplace Homicide Rates,” Compensation and Working Conditions Online, November 24,

2003, http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/sh20031119ar01p1.htm. Chart 1. Percentage of homicides by time of day, private retail trade, 2003—2008

Time of day Food and beverage stores and gasoline stations All other retail

8:00—11:59 a.m. 14.9 19.7

12:00—3:59 p.m. 11.7 23.8

4:00—7:59 p.m. 15.7 28.4

8:00—11:59 p.m. 32.4 11.9

12:00—3:59 a.m. 12.5 3.5

4:00—7:59 a.m. 8.0 3.5

Time unknown 4.8 9.3

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Division of Information and Marketing Services, PSB Suite 2850, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC

20212-0001 | www.bls.gov/OPUB | Telephone: 1-202-691-5200 | Contact Us