Despite a 26 percent increase in one year, there has been practically
no focus on the rising number of workers in Georgia who are dying and being
injured at work.
In 2014, 148 workers died during job-related activities in the
state, an increase of 31 over the year, according
to preliminary reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, the number of deaths rose by 94, an increase of 2 percent.
Violence on the job was a key factor in the rise in Georgia, with the
number of work-related deaths due to intentional injury more than doubling over
the year from 15 to 32. The number of work-related suicides rose from 6 to 14.
The sharp rise in violence contrasts with a very low
increase in the number of roadway incidents that resulted in deaths, which have been the main cause of
work-related fatalities in past years. In 2014, road deaths accounted for 36
fatalities, up by only 3 over 2013.
Other leading causes of work-related deaths in 2014 included
falls (26 deaths), being struck by object or equipment (15 deaths), and
nonroadway incidents involving motorized equipment (11 deaths).
Of the 148 total fatalities, 134 workers were employed in
private industry while 14 deaths occurred to workers employed by governments in
the state. This compares to the 117 deaths recorded in 2013, of which 108 were
in private industry and 9 were in government.
For 2014, the increase in fatalities occurred among men, as
the number of men dying on the job increased from 103 in 2013 to 136 in 2014.
Deaths among female workers actually declined over the year from 14 to 12.
Nonfatal injuries and
illnesses
Georgia workers suffered nonfatal injuries and illnesses at
a rate of 2.9 per 100 equivalent full-time workers in 2014. While this remains below the national
average of 3.2, it is an increase over 2013 when the state
recorded a rate of 2.8.
In contrast, the U.S. recorded a decrease in the rate of
nonfatal injuries and illnesses, dropping from 3.3 per 100 equivalent full-time workers in 2013 to
3.2 in 2014.
Why the increase and
why is it being ignored?
While Georgia focuses on job growth, the growing number of
injuries and deaths goes unreported in the media and the state chooses not to
highlight this growing epidemic.
In part this may be due to the state’s decision several
years ago to move the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses and Census
of Fatal Occupational Injuries from the Georgia Department of Labor to the state’s
Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner. This office may not recognize
the importance of the data or may choose to play down numbers, which they may feel reflect
badly on the state's reputation.
While individual deaths are sometimes, but not always,
reported in the media, it is hard for the casual reader or viewer to see the
aggregated result or understand the trend. Nonfatal injuries and illnesses are
much less likely to receive media attention, so they often remain "under
the radar."
A harder question to answer is why are more people in
Georgia getting injured and dying on the job?
Some of the increase in fatal and nonfatal injuries can be
attributed to more workers returning to work after the recession. It is
expected that with more people on the job, there are more possibilities for
work-related injuries. Yet, Georgia’s job growth is only equal to the national
average, while the number of fatal and nonfatal injuries and illnesses is
growing faster than the U.S.
Even as the numbers grow, Georgia’s nonfatal injuries and
illness rate is staying below the national average. Some of this lower rate
reflects the state’s mix of industries, as the state moves towards an
increasingly white-collar economy. Office jobs tend to have fewer serious
injuries then those in traditional manufacturing, construction, and
transportation industries.
More work needs to be done to determine why Georgia’s
work-related deaths and injuries are increasing, but if the numbers are simply
ignored, than there is no incentive to work to lower them.
For workers and their families, each person who goes to work each day expects to come home alive and uninjured. For more Georgia families, that appears to be a false expectation.
