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

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Change to Hours-Based Fatality Rates in the Census of Fatal Occupational

Injuries

by Joyce Northwood

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Originally Posted: January 25, 2010

Revision posted: January 29, 2010

In June of 2009, BLS introduced a new methodology for calculating fatality rates. This article describes the new methodology

and its benefits and provides examples of the impact of the methodology change.

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) produces fatality rates to measure the risk of incurring a fatal injury faced

by groups of workers, such as workers in a certain age group or occupation. These rates also can be used to compare risk

among different groups of workers of varying employment levels. Fatality rates are published each year by employee status,

gender, age group, race, ethnicity, occupation, and industry.

Fatality counts from the CFOI are combined with data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) to produce these rates. The

CPS is a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households that collects demographic and labor force status information on

the civilian population of the United States. Demographic information collected includes age, gender, race, and ethnicity. For

the reference week of the survey, respondents also report whether they were employed, whether they were at work, and the

number of hours worked.

CFOI fatality rates for years 1992 through 2007 are employment based--that is, they are measured in terms of the number of

fatalities per a given number of workers. These rates measure the risk of fatal injury for those employed during a given year,

but they do not take into account the amount of time workers are exposed to the risk. Fatality rates calculated in terms of

injuries per number of employed workers alone do not fully capture the relative risk of incurring an occupational fatality.1 This

discrepancy is most noticeable among groups that do not typically work a 40-hour work week, such as older and younger

workers and workers in retail trade and mining. A more ideal measurement would account for the time a worker is exposed to

dangers associated with fatal injuries. As a result, BLS introduced hours-based rates in June of 2009.

Employment-based Rates

Employment-based rates, available for years 1992 through 2007, represent the number of fatal occupational injuries per

100,000 employed workers. They are calculated as follows:

(N÷W) × 100,000, where 

N = the number of fatal work injuries, and 

W = the number of employed workers.

Because the CFOI does not collect employment data, rates are calculated using annual employment estimates from the

CPS. The scope of the CPS differs from that of the CFOI. For example, because CPS data exclude the resident military,

employment data in the CFOI are supplemented by resident military data from the U.S. Department of Defense. CPS

tabulations are limited to the population aged 16 years and older, so fatalities among workers under age 16 are excluded

from fatality counts in calculating the rates.

For example, the 2007 employment-based fatality rate is computed as follows:

N = 5,657 − 18 workers under the age of 16 = 5,639; 

W = 147,215,000 (from the CPS, 2007 annual averages, plus the resident military figures obtained from the

Department of Defense); 

Fatality rate = (5,639÷147,215,000) × 100,000 = 3.8 fatalities per 100,000 workers.
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Hours-based Rates

Hours-based rates use the average number of employees at work and the average hours worked to measure fatality risk per

standardized length of exposure. The rates calculated by this method also represent the number of fatal occupational injuries

per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. These rates are calculated as follows:

(N÷EH) × 200,000,000, where 

N = number of fatal 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).

As with the data used for employment-based rates, the data for the average number of employees at work and the average

hours worked are obtained from the CPS. Workers under the age of 16 are again excluded from the fatality count to maintain

consistency with the CPS. Volunteer workers, also not included in the CPS, are now excluded. In addition, since the CFOI

has not been able to obtain reliable hours-worked data for the resident military, military workers are also excluded from the

fatality counts used to calculate hours-based rates.

For example, the 2007 hours-based fatality rates are calculated as follows:

N = 5,657 − 149 workers under the age of 16, volunteers, and resident military = 5,508; 

EH = 275,042,880,000 (from CPS, 2007 annual averages, 140,328,000 employees at work 2 times 39.2

average hours per week times 50 weeks); 

Fatality rate = (5,508÷275,042,880,000) × 200,000,000 = 4.0 fatalities per 100,000 workers.

Employment- and hours-based rates will be similar for groups of workers who tend to work full time and year round. Rates

will be higher for some worker groups, such as those with a large proportion of part-time workers. Examples are the youngest

and oldest workers and workers in the retail trade industry. Rates will be lower for groups of workers who work more hours

than average or who rarely take time off, such as workers in the mining industry or farmers and ranchers.

Table 1 shows both employment- and hours-based rates for selected worker demographic and major industry groups for

2007. Since not all workers work full time through the entire year, the hours-based methodology produces a rate for all

workers of 4.0 and the employment-based methodology yields a rate of 3.8. For workers over age 65, who are more likely to

work part-time, the hours-based rate is 13.5 and the employment-based rate is 10.2. Because workers in the 25- to 54-year

age groups are more likely to work full time, the rates are about the same when computed using the hours-based

methodology and the employment-based methodology. In industries such as private mining, where long work hours are the

norm--an average of 49.0 hours per week, compared with 39.2 hours for all workers combined--the hours-based rate is lower

than the employment-based rate.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries, annual average hours worked per week, and rates of fatal occupational injuries by

selected worker characteristics, 2007

Characteristic Total

fatalities

Hours-based Employment-based

Annual average hours worked

(in millions)

Fatality

Rate

Total Employment (in

thousands)

Fatality

rate

Total 5,657 275,043 4.0 147,215 3.8

Gender

NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Workers under the age of 16 years, volunteer workers,

and member of the resident military are not included in rate calculations to maintain consistency with CPS employment. The total fatalities

column represents total published fatalities before the exclusions. Data for 2007 are revised and final.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2007.
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Characteristic Total

fatalities

Hours-based Employment-based

Annual average hours worked

(in millions)

Fatality

Rate

Total Employment (in

thousands)

Fatality

rate

Men 5,228 158,049 6.4 79,255 6.6

Women 429 116,468 0.7 67,958 0.6

Age

16 to 17 20 2,001 1.9 2,287 0.9

18 to 19 97 4,897 3.5 3,704 2.6

20 to 24 424 24,137 3.4 14,353 3.0

25 to 34 991 61,451 3.1 32,020 3.1

35 to 44 1,168 67,703 3.4 34,527 3.4

45 to 54 1,425 68,373 4.1 34,601 4.1

55 to 64 934 37,824 4.9 20,110 4.6

Over 65 574 8,370 13.5 5,614 10.2

Industry

Private Industry 5,112 236,433 4.3 124,994 4.1

Agriculture, Forestry,

Fishing, and Hunting 585 4,229 27.0 2,045 27.9

Mining 183 1,710 21.4 730 25.1

Utilities 34 1,194 5.7 851 4.0

Construction 1,204 22,187 10.8 11,416 10.5

Manufacturing 400 33,371 2.4 16,204 2.5

Wholesale Trade 207 8,993 4.5 4,357 4.7

Retail Trade 348 29,571 2.4 16,478 2.1

Transportation and

Warehousing 890 10,771 16.5 5,265 16.9

Information 79 6,642 2.3 3,372 2.3

Financial activities 119 19,856 1.2 10,249 1.2

Professional and

business services 476 29,271 3.3 15,219 3.1

Educational and

Health Services 149 35,545 0.8 19,904 0.7

Leisure and hospitality 260 20,121 2.5 11,972 2.2

Other Services (Exc.

Public Administration) 175 12,374 2.7 6,934 2.5

Government 545 38,319 2.3 22,221 2.5

NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Workers under the age of 16 years, volunteer workers,

and member of the resident military are not included in rate calculations to maintain consistency with CPS employment. The total fatalities

column represents total published fatalities before the exclusions. Data for 2007 are revised and final.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2007.

Table 2 shows hours- and employment-based rates for selected occupations with high fatality rates. For some occupations,

such as roofers, logging workers, and structural iron and steel workers, hours-based rates produce larger rates. Work in

these occupations is constrained by weather conditions, and workers are unlikely to work year round. In contrast, hoursbased rates are lower for farmers and ranchers and for fishers and related fishing workers. For both of these occupations,

weekly hours are higher than average. In addition, many workers in these occupations are self-employed and are thus less

likely to take time off.
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Table 2. Rates of fatal occupational injuries for selected occupations with high fatality rates, 2007

Occupation Fatalities Hours-based Employment-based

Fishers and related fishing workers 38 109.5 111.8

Logging workers 76 89.1 86.4

Aircraft pilots and flight engineers 87 70.6 70.7

Structural iron and steel workers 40 47.8 45.5

Farmers and ranchers 293 36.0 39.5

Roofers 79 33.4 29.4

Electrical power-line installers and repairers 30 27.6 29.1

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers 976 26.1 28.2

Refuse and recyclable material collectors 18 24.0 22.8

Police and sheriff's patrol officers 146 19.8 21.8

NOTE: Data for 2007 are revised and final.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2007.

Both employment- and hours-based rates are now available for 2006 and 2007, providing evidence on the differences

between the two types of rates. The new rate methodology represents a break in series and therefore data for years that

have employment-based rates should not be compared with data for years that have hours-based rates. Beginning with

reference year 2008, only hours-based rates are calculated. (See the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/iif/ for all available

rate tables).

Joyce Northwood

Economist, Division of Safety and Health Program Analysis and Control, Office of Compensation and Working Conditions,

Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Telephone: (202) 691-6216; E-mail: Northwood.Joyce@bls.gov. NOTE: Table 1 of this article was originally published with an incorrect value for womens annual average hours worked (in

millions); the correct value is 116,468, which now appears in table 1.

Notes

1 For further discussion, see John W. Ruser, “Denominator Choice in the Calculation of Workplace Fatality Rates,” American Journal of

Industrial Medicine, February 1998.

2 This figure is the annual average number of people at work, which excludes employed persons absent from their jobs because of vacation,

illness, or industrial dispute. For more information, see Current Population Survey, Technical Paper 63RV, Design and Methodology, on the

Internet at http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/tp63rv.pdf.

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