NIOSH chief John Howard hailed strides in workplace safety over the last four decades but cautioned that current statistics do not necessarily offer a full picture of recent trends. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the preliminary total number of fatal work injuries in 2009 was the lowest since BLS began counting in 1992, Howard noted, but he said numbers are likely to rise as the full results are tabulated; also, total work-hours fell in 2009, as they did in 2008, particularly in industries such as construction.
