Michigan Workplace Fatality Rate Declines

Michigan’s rate of job-related deaths has decreased in recent years even as more people enter the workforce following the economic recession.

The Detroit News reports federal data show Michigan’s rate of workplace fatalities declined from 3.6 per 100,000 workers in 2010 to 3.4 per in 2012. The total number of fatalities increased to 133 deaths last year from 120 in 2007.

Transportation accidents are the leading cause of workplace deaths, and men are more likely to die on the job than women.

Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation project coordinator Debra Chester says businesses “have had to do more with less” and now must refocus on safety.

The national rate in 2012 was the same as Michigan’s, with 3.4 deaths per 100,000 workers.