A new injury facts database revealed in October showed the workplace fatalities rose 7.3 percent, with men overwhelmingly represented in fatalities.
According to the National Safety Congress & Expo in Houston, increases in on-the-job fatalities were driven by issues in transportation, drugs and violence.
The new numbers from 2016 show that women are impacted by nonfatal workplace violence with 70 percent of assault-related injuries occurring to women. Injuries cost society about $151 billion annually in both lost wages and productivity.
Meanwhile 81 percent of all on-the-job fatalities are men.
Construction is the leading industry for fatalities, with 959 fatalities in 2016. According to NSC, the cost of a single workplace death is $1.12 million.
Overdoses of non-medical drugs or alcohol while on the job increased from 165 in 2015 to 217 in 2016. This represents a 32 percent increase.
Statistics showed fewer injuries from falls in 2016 over 2015.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.