2006 workplace fatalities drop to new low: BLS

WASHINGTON--The rate of fatal workplace injuries in 2006 dropped to its lowest level since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conducted its first fatality census in 1992, the bureau reported Thursday.

According to BLS, 5,703 fatal work injuries occurred in the United States last year, down from the revised total of 5,734 fatalities a year earlier. That resulted in a fatal work injury rate of 3.9 per 100,000 workers in 2006, down from 4.0 per 100,000 workers a year earlier.

Highway accidents remained the most frequent source of work-related fatalities, accounting for about 23% of all such fatalities. But the number of highway-related deaths dropped by 8% in 2006 from a year earlier.

Workplace homicides dropped by 9% in 2006.