The Labor Department released the number of workplace fatalities on Thursday, and the number was the lowest since data tracking began in 1992. There were 4,340 workplace fatalities recorded in 2009, a 17% drop, following a 10% drop in 2008. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that they attribute the low number to the unemployment rate, and especially to the high unemployment rate in the construction industry, where the unemployment rate is at 17.3%. Suicides declined to 237 after jumping in 2008. The number is still the second highest on record. The full report will be released next year.
See "Workplace deaths fall to lowest level since 1992", Sam Hananel, August 18, 2010