MANCHESTER – Workplace deaths declined both in New Hampshire and regionally, with 13 in New Hampshire and 161 in New England last year, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' Boston Regional Office reported yesterday.

Those figures compared to 18 in New Hampshire and 167 in New England during 2005.

"It's good when fatalities trend down like that, and we're happy about it," Judy Elliott, director of the union-affiliated New Hampshire Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, said yesterday. "We're still very concerned about the workplace safety hazards that continue to exist in New Hampshire."

►Bureau of Labor Statistics' Web site

She said the likelihood of any individual workplace seeing a visit from an Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector is so low that some employers do not maintain safe workplaces. "They know it's unlikely they'll see the inspector and, if they do, the fines are not terribly high. It's cheaper to take the chance and pay the fine for many companies," she said.

In 2006, fatal occupational injuries in New England accounted for about 3 percent of the 5,703 deaths nationwide. Nationally, workplace fatalities decreased slightly from the revised total of 5,743 fatalities reported for 2005.

In New Hampshire, four deaths were attributed to transportation accidents, of which three involved water vehicles, according to preliminary BLS figures. All those killed in the state were white, non-Hispanics.

Other New Hampshire workplace deaths were characterized as the result of assaults and other violent acts (three) and contact with objects and equipment (three).

By industry, BLS said four of the New Hampshire deaths were in the natural resources and mining sector, while construction accounted for three, and trade, transportation and utilities, represented another three.

By occupational group, four of the deaths occurred among workers with farming, fishing and forestry jobs, while three were in construction and extraction.

During 2006, on-the-job deaths were highest in Massachusetts, with 66, down from 75 the previous year, and Connecticut, with 38, down from 46.

The other New England states saw increases in workplace deaths last year, with Maine up to 20 from 15, Vermont to 14 from seven, and Rhode Island to 10 from six last year, BLS reported.

BLS statistics exclude cancers and other occupationally caused illnesses.

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On the Net:

www.bls.gov/ro1