Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1999 27

Fatal Injuries and Young Workers

Research Summary:

Fatal Injuries and

Young Workers

Safety and Health

Youths’ risk of suffering a fatal work injury is

lower than that for adults. Nevertheless, working in hazardous environments such as farms,

retail establishments, and construction sites

claimed the lives of 403 youths from 1992

through 1997.

MICHAEL H. CIMINI

Michael H. Cimini is an economist in the Division of Compensation Data

Analysis and Planning, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Telephone: (202) 606-6275

E-mail: Cimini_M@bls.gov

During 1992-97, 403 youths, age 17 years and younger, suffered fatal work injuries. BLS research shows that these fatalities occurred primarily in agriculture, retail trade, and

construction.1 About half of the fatalities involved various

types of vehicles and equipment; about one-third occurred

in family businesses.

Youths’ risk of fatal work injuries

About 3 million youths under the age of 18 work each year.

On average, about 67 youths die each year from work-related injuries—roughly 1 percent of all fatalities. Because

youths work for short periods, for the most part in part-time

jobs, exposure hours were used to evaluate fatality risk.

(These fatality rates were calculated using actual hours

worked and then converted to full-time equivalency—2,000

hours worked per employee each year.)2 As shown in table

1, 16 and 17 year olds—who comprise the majority of employed youths—have rates below those for all workers, and

15 year olds have about the same rate.3

Event

The work fatality profile for youths, to some extent, mirrors

that of older workers: Vehicle-related incidents and homicides were the leading causes of death for both sets of workers. There were slight differences, however, in the proportion of fatalities for highway incidents, off-road vehicle

incidents, contacts with objects, and falls. (See table 2.) The

pattern for these two groups was fairly similar for assaults

TABLE 1. Worker fatalities by age, 1992-97

 All ages .................... 37,875 6,313 5.0

Under 15 ........................ 109 18 (2)

 15 ............................... 46 8 5.1

 16 ............................... 91 15 3.4

 17 ............................... 157 26 3.7

 1 Excludes the military and workers under 15 years of age and is

based on number of hours worked.

 2 Rate was not calculated because employment data and hours

worked are not available.

and violent acts, fires and explosions, and exposures to harmful substances and environments.

Industry

Of the 403 youths fatally injured on the job in 1992-97, approximately two-fifths were working in agriculture and onefifth were working in retail trade. The construction, services, and manufacturing industries also sustained high levels

of youth deaths. (See table 3.)

Agriculture. Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries for all workers. The industry’s rate of fatal work

injuries consistently ranks just below that of mining, which

has the highest rate. Therefore, it is not surprising that the

industry poses great hazards to youths.

Youths working on farms accounted for 40 percent (162)

of the fatalities to workers under 18 during the study period.

Slightly over one-half of these fatalities occurred to youths

on their own families’ farms. Of the 162 youth fatalities in

Worker’s age

Annual

average

Average

rate per

100,000

workers1

Total
28 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1999

agriculture, all but 10 occurred to males. About three-fourths

of the 109 fatalities involving youths under 15 occurred in

farming.

Like adults, working youths are exposed to various hazards on the farm—machinery, falls, being struck by objects,

and natural phenomena. (See tabulation.)

TABLE 2. Fatalities to young workers and all workers by event

and exposure, 1992-97

 Total ....................... 403 100 6,313 100

Transportation incidents 163 40 2,589 41

 Highway incidents .... 70 17 1,304 21

 Nonhighway

 incidents ................. 47 12 396 6

 Worker struck

 by vehicle................ 25 6 368 6

 Water vehicle ............ 9 2 106 2

 Railway ..................... 8 2 80 1

Assaults and violent

 acts ............................. 82 20 1,247 20

 Homicide ................... 72 18 1,003 16

 Suicide ...................... 3 1 213 3

 Animal attack ............ 7 2 29 1

Contact with objects

 and equipment ............ 82 20 1,004 16

 Struck by object ........ 36 9 570 9

 Caught in objects

 or equipment ......... 25 6 295 5

 Running

 equipment........... 17 4 154 2

 Collapsing materials . 17 4 121 2

Falls .............................. 23 6 657 10

Exposure to harmful

 substances and

 environments .............. 44 11 588 9

 Electric current ......... 25 6 312 5

 Exposure to caustic,

 noxious, allergenic

 substances ............. 9 2 122 2

 Oxygen deficiencies . 10 2 102 2

Fires and explosions..... 8 2 194 3

Workers under 18 All workers

Event or exposure

Number Percent

Annual

average

number

Percent

TABLE 3. Fatalities to youths and all workers by industry, 1992-97

 Total ...................... 403 100 6,313 100 5.0

Agriculture, forestry,

 and fishing ................ 162 40 827 13 23.7

Mining ......................... - - 167 3 26.2

Construction ............... 53 13 1,015 16 14.3

Manufacturing ............. 21 5 750 12 3.7

Transportation and

 public utilities ............ 12 3 935 15 13.2

Wholesale trade .......... 14 3 257 4 5.3

Retail trade ................. 87 22 728 12 3.5

Finance, insurance,

 and real estate .......... - - 115 2 1.5

Services ...................... 32 8 772 12 2.3

Government ................ 13 3 682 11 3.5

Other or unspecified ... 9 2 66 1 -

Number Percent

Rate

per

100,000

workers1

Workers under

18

All workers

Industry Average

annual

number

Percent

 Total ............................................... 162 100

Transportation ....................................... 87 54

 Off highway ....................................... 40 25

 Overturning and falls ..................... 35 22

 Highway ............................................ 27 16

 Overturning ................................... 20 12

Workers struck by vehicle .................... 10 6

Struck by object .................................... 15 9

Caught in running equipment ............... 14 9

Grain engulfment .................................. 7 4

Animal assault ...................................... 7 4

Falls ...................................................... 5 3

Drowning ............................................... 5 3

Struck by lightning ................................ 4 2

Event Number Percent

Over one-half (87) of youth deaths in agriculture were

transportation related. Tractors were involved in almost onethird (51) of all youth farm fatalities. About one-half of the

tractor-related fatalities resulted from the tractor overturning onto the worker, when being driven in a field or on a

roadway. Other tractor-related fatalities resulted from the

worker being run over while standing in a field, being struck

by the bucket of a tractor-mounted loader, or being caught in

the tractor’s power take-off mechanism. (See tabulation.)

 Total ............................................. 51 100

Overturning in a field ......................... 15 29

Overturning on a roadway ................. 13 25

Fall from a tractor and struck by

 attached equipment ......................... 6 12

Runover by tractor ............................. 4 8

Struck by tractor bucket ..................... 3 6

Caught in power take-off ................... 3 6

Other .................................................. 7 14

In 38 of these 51 instances, the fatally injured youth was

operating the tractor. In 16 incidents, the youth was under

16 years of age; in 7, they were under 16 and operating the

tractor on a public road.

Retail trade and services. About three-fourths of young

workers between the ages of 15 and 17 are employed in the

retail trade and service sectors. The most common employers of youths in the retail sector are eating and drinking establishments, grocery stores, and department stores. In the

service sector, the most common employers are entertainment or recreation businesses, private households, health care

providers, and educational institutions.

Event Number Percent

1 Excludes the military and workers under 15 years of age and is

based on number of hours worked.
 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1999 29

Fatal Injuries and Young Workers

As the following tabulation shows, assaults and violent

acts—almost all of which were homicide—was the leading

cause of fatalities for youths working in retail trade; it accounted for two-thirds (59) of the 87 deaths. Of the 56 homicides, 23 (41 percent) were the result of a confirmed robbery; in 21 incidents, the motive was unclear. Three-fourths

of youth deaths in retail trade occurred in food stores, such

as a convenience store, grocery, or bakery, or in a restaurant.

Males incurred 74 percent of these fatalities. Regardless of

sex, assaults accounted for the majority of deaths. Eightyfour percent of fatality victims in retail trade were wage and

salary workers, 11 percent worked in their family’s business,

and 5 percent were self-employed (all were newspaper carriers).4

 Total .............................................. 87 100

Assaults and violent acts .................... 59 68

 Homicides ........................................ 56 64

Transportation ...................................... 16 18

 Highway crashes ............................. 13 15

Struck by object ................................... 5 6

Exposure to harmful environment ....... 4 5

Other .................................................... 3 3

There were 32 deaths involving youths in the service industry. Transportation-related incidents were the leading

cause of fatalities. Homicides and exposure to harmful environments (such as electrocutions and drownings) were the

next two most common events leading to youth fatalities in

this industry.

Construction. Approximately 13 percent (53) of fatalities

incurred by youths were in construction. Of the 53 deaths,

two-thirds were incurred by 17-year-olds, and about onehalf occurred from June through August. In 15 incidents,

the youths were self-employed or working in a family business.

The majority of the youths in construction worked as laborers, particularly for special trades contractors performing jobs such as roofing and concrete work. Because these

youths performed a variety of tasks including digging foundations and ditches, moving and stacking lumber, and erecting or dismantling scaffolding, their fatalities were dispersed

by event and exposure. Falls and electrocutions were the

leading causes of youth fatalities in this industry. (See tabulation.) Three-fourths of the fatal falls were from or through

roofs and skylights. One-half of the electrocutions resulted

from contact with overhead power lines.

 Total .......................... 53 100 6,087 100

Falls ............................... 12 23 1,921 32

Electrocutions ................ 11 21 830 14

Struck by object ............. 9 17 579 10

Highway incidents .......... 6 11 715 11

Excavations and

 trenching ...................... 5 9 201 3

Struck by vehicle ........... 4 8 456 8

Other .............................. 6 11 1,385 23

Other industries. Manufacturing accounted for 5 percent

(21) of youth fatalities, one-third of which were incurred by

newspaper carriers involved in a vehicle-related incident or

homicide.5 One-fourth occurred in logging and sawmill

operations, where the youths were struck by falling trees or

by vehicles. Transportation and public utilities, wholesale

trade, and government each accounted for 3 percent of the

fatal work injuries incurred by youths. Slightly more than

one-half of these fatalities were vehicle-related.

Event or exposure Number Percent Event or exposure Youths All workers

Number Percent Number Percent

1

 See Janice Windau, Eric Sygnatur, and Guy Toscano, “Injuries Incurred by Young Workers,” Monthly Labor Review, June 1999.

Data on fatal work injuries are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), which covers all fatal work

injuries. This program has collected occupational fatality data nationwide

since 1992; it uses diverse data sources to identify, verify, and profile fatal

work injuries. Information about each workplace fatality (industry and

other worker characteristics, equipment involved, and circumstances of

the event) is obtained by cross-referencing source documents 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.

 2

 The fatal work injury rates included in the study were calculated

using annual average employment and hours worked that were collected

in the Current Population Survey (CPS). The rates are considered experimental measures. They provide the number of fatal work injuries per

100,000 workers for 1992-97, and were calculated as follows:

[(N92 + N93 + N94 +N95 + N96 + N97)/(W92 + W93 + W94 + W95 + W96 +

W97)] x 100,000; where:

N = number of civilian worker fatalities, age 15 and older, 1992-97,

and

W = annual average number of employed civilians, age 15 and older,

1992-97

For calculating rates using hours worked, the total hours worked was

converted to full-time equivalent workers using a 2,000-hour work year.

Thus, the rate of fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers = (fatalities/hours) x 200,000,000.

The CFOI program does not collect employment or hours of exposure

data; therefore, annual average estimates from the CPS for 1992-97 are

used in the denominator. The CPS employment and hours data used to

calculate rates are estimates based on a sample of persons employed rather

than a complete count. Thus, the CPS estimates and fatality rates have

sampling errors; that is, they may differ from figures that would have been

obtained if it had been possible to take a census of employed persons. See

“Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error” in the BLS monthly periodical, Employment and Earnings for an explanation of CPS sampling and

estimation methodology, and standard error computations. The relative

standard errors of the CPS estimates can be used to approximate confidence ranges for the fatality rates. 3 In some tables and tabulations, the sum of individual items may not

equal the total because some categories of data may not be displayed. 4

 Newspaper carriers are sometimes considered independent contractors.

5

 Newspaper carriers are mentioned both here and in the section on

retail trade because they are usually employed either in newspaper printing and publishing, in the manufacturing sector, or in direct selling establishments in the retail trade industry. There were 11 fatalities among newspaper carriers under age 18 during the study period.