Fewer worker deaths in Oregon in third quarter 2016

Fewer workers died in Oregon in the 2016 third quarter than in the same period in 2015, according to a preliminary report released by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, which tracks compensable workers compensation deaths.  

Five deaths occurred between July 1 and Sept. 30, down from eight in the prior-year period. However, the number of fatalities is higher for 2016 as a whole — 22 so far this year vs. 19 in the first three quarters of 2015, according to the quarterly fatality report. 

The report breaks down fatalities by industry, with agriculture, forestry and fishing enterprises accounting for most of the deaths annually — seven deaths in both 2015 and 2016. 

Of those numbers, more than half of them occur in the logging industry: four this year and all seven in 2015.

The state’s construction industry saw fewer deaths this year — three down from five. 

According to the department, the current year’s data are preliminary until the final count is released in the spring of next year.