Fatal work injuries in 2003.

A total of 5,559 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2003, a small increase from the revised total of 5,534 fatal work injuries reported for 2002. The rate at which fatal work injuries occurred in 2003 was 4.0 fatalities per 100,000 workers, unchanged from the rate reported for 2002.

Fatal highway incidents were down in 2003 for the second consecutive year, but continued to account for the highest number of fatal work injuries. The 1,350 fatal highway incidents in 2003 accounted for about one out of every four fatal work injuries. The number of workplace homicides was higher in 2003--the first increase since 2000. Despite the higher total, the 631 workplace homicides in 2003 represented a 42-percent decline from the high of 1,080 homicides in 1994.

In 2003, agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting had the highest rate of fatal work injuries of any industry sector: 31.2 fatalities per 100,000 workers. The largest number of fatal work injuries in 2003 was in the construction sector. The 1,126 fatal work injuries in private construction accounted for more than one out of every five workplace fatalities in 2003. Additional information is available from "National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2003," news release USDL 04-1830.