Safety and Heaith

Job-related Fatalities

Involving Youths,
1992-95

BY BLAINE DERSTINE

More than 700 workers aged 19 or younger were vic-
tims of work-related fatalities between 1992-95, an aver-
age of 180 deaths each year.' Work-related deaths occurred
primarily in farming and retail establishments. The haz-
ards encountered during the operation of tractors and other
farm machinery on the family farm are killers of many
youths. Also, retail jobs where workers interact with the
public and handle money and merchandise put young work-
ers in vulnerable positions for violence.

Job-related fatalities by year

The youth fatality total of 720 in 1992-95 accounted for
about 3 percent of the Nation’s job-related fatalities. For
1992-94, youths accounted for slightly less than 3 percent
of these fatalities. However, in 1995, for the first time,
youths accounted for more than 3 percent of all job-related
fatalities. That year witnessed the highest number of youth
fatalities, or 11 percent more than averaged in 1992-94.
(See table 1.) Fatalities in the 18- to 19-year-old group
accounted for the largest increase over the 1993-95 period.

Occupations

Young farm workers, except managers, lead all other
youths in job-related fatalities (table 2). The primary event
that caused these fatalities was nonhighway vehicular inci-
dents, in which a youth operated or helped to operate a
vehicle on a farm or parking lot.

Workers in occupations that interact with the public also
had high numbers of job-related fatalities, most often due
to assaults and violent acts. Homicide was the leading
manner of death among sales workers, retail and personal
services, and food preparation occupations. Homicide ac-

Blaine Derstine is an economist in the Office of Safety, Health, and Work-
ing Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Telephone (202) 606-6175.

counted for between 70 percent and 81 percent of the job-
related deaths in those occupations.

Construction occupations also took their toll on youths.
Over the 4-year period, construction laborers and construc-
tion trades, except supervisor, comprised 13 percent of the
total, or 93 job-related fatalities.

Event

Transportation incidents and assault and violent acts were
more than 60 percent of all job-related youth fatalities.
Transportation incidents alone comprised 40 percent of
them. Of the transportation incidents, 145 involved a single
vehicle; 79 of these jackknifed or overturned. Another 45
workers were pedestrians struck by a vehicle. Assaults and
violent acts were involved in 157 job-related fatalities. (See
chart 1.) Of the 138 homicides, firearms were used in 109.

Chart 1. Number of youth worker fatalities by
event or exposure’, 1992-95

Event of 0

‘Transportation incidents

‘Assaults, violont acts

Contact with objects

Harmtul exposures.

Fale

Ut ti

Other

°

60 100 160 200 250 300 360

Number

' on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and lliness Classifi-
cation Structure.

Compensation and Working Conditions December 1996 40


‘Table 1. Job-related fatalities by age , 1992-95

Number of fatalities

Year A Total Under 14-10 16-to 18-to
ite Percent 14 years 15-year 17-year 19-year

‘eration | yout old olds olds olds

25,390 720 28 51 56 162 451

6,217 175 28 14 13 41 107

6,331 170 27 13 6 K 102

6,632 181 27 1 14 42 114

6,210 194 34 13 13 a 128

Table 2. Occupations with the most job-related fatalities among Table 3. Job-related fatalities and primary event, by selected

youth, and primary event, 1992-95. characteristics, 1992-95
Number of fatatities Characteristic Fatalities Primary
Total Primary event Number Percent event
720 | Homicide (138), 720 | 100 | Homicide (138),
Highway (135) Highway (135)
115 | Nonhighway (37) Employee status
71, | Homicide (50) 611 | 85 | Homicide (128)
57 | Caughtin or 21 3 | Highway (7)
essed by 88 | 12 | Highway (14)
semen (7)
55. | Pedestrian (14) 652 | 91 | Highway (122)
50 | Highway (33) 68 9 | Homicide (39)
41 | Highway (6)
38 | Contact with electric 694 | 83 | Highway (122)
(1) 62 9 | Homicide (29)
33 | Homicide (27) Asian or Pacific Islander 2 3 | Homickte (16)
19 | Highway (4)
7 1
18 | Homicide (5) 35 5 | Homicide (8)
16 | Caughtin or Hispanic origin
compressed by Hispanic? 119 17 | Homicide (32)
equipment (4)
‘Based on the Census Bureau's 1990 occupation classification ‘Includes paid and unpaid family workers.
system. ® Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Table 4. Job-related fatalities by Industry and age group, 1992-95

Number of fatalities

Industry! Total Under14 | 14-to15- | 16-to17- | 18-10 19-

youth years old year olds: year olds: year olds
720 51 56 162 451
159 4 10 45 (5° 100 (4)
155 40 (31) 26(16) | 42(11) 47 (6)
102 - - 2 72
90 _ - 19 6
74 3 4 9 58
59 _ - 4 5s
81 - - 18 58

* Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987 youths working in a famity business.
tion. NOTE: Dashes indicate data that are not avail-
® Numbers in parentheses are the number of able or do not meet publication criteria.

41 Compensation and Working Conditions December 1996


Worker characteristics

Among young women, over 50 percent of job-related
deaths were due to homicides. Among Asian or Pacific
Islanders, 72 percent were victims of homicide; and among
black youths, 46 percent were victims of homicide.

industry

Job-related deaths for young workers was slightly higher
in the retail industry than in agriculture, forestry, and fish-
ing industries. Retail jobs require minimal levels of skill
and often employ teens. Overall, retail sales workers are

subject to high rates of assaults and violent acts, and young
workers in such establishments are no exception. Those
aged 18 to 19 have the largest number of job-related fa-
talities in the retail industry. The highest number of fa-
talities among 14- and 15-year olds and those under 14
were in agriculture, forestry, and fishing occupations.
Forty-seven of the fatalities in these two age groups were
for youths working on a family farm. Eighty percent of
fatalities among youths under 14 were in agriculture, while
in the 14- to 15-year age group agricultural fatalities com-
prised 46 percent of all fatalities.

—Endnotes—

) The Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
hhas collected a census of occupational fatality data nation-wide for
1992-1995. The BLS CFOI program uses diverse data sources to identify,
verify and profile fatal work injuries. Information about each workplace fa-
tality (occupation and other worker characteristics, equipment being wsed,
and circumstances of the event) is obtained by cross-referencing source

ments, such as death certificates, workers’ compensation records, and reports
to Federal and state agencies. This method assures counts are as complete
‘and accurate as possible. The data in this article are from CFOI, 1992-1995.
For more information the CPOI program, access the World Wide
‘Web at stats. bls.gov/oshfat! htm or e-mail cfoistaff@bls.gov.

Compensation and Working Conditions December 1996 42