By Disha Raychaudhuri | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

You might be bored sitting at your desk for eight hours every day and wishing you were outside, but for some workers in New Jersey, the worksite was a very dangerous place.

In 2016, 101 people in the state died of occupational injuries, a slight uptick from the 97 in 2015, according to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Most people in the state don't work in dangerous jobs, and we're by no means a nationwide leader. The state ranked 17th in workplace fatalities. Texas ranked first (545 deaths), while Rhode Island had the fewest (9).

Carmen Martino, an assistant professor at Rutgers University and co-director of the school's Occupational Training and Education Consortium, said it's likely workplace deaths will continue increasing in the near future.

"It's unfortunate but generally true that with a growing economy, there will be more fatalities," Martino said.

Martino noted that fatalities in construction started to decline during the Great Recession but picked up when conditions began improving.

"This certainly is not a reason to be complacent when the number of fatalities starts to creep back up, but it is at least one significant indicator of what is happening when workplace fatalities start to rise," he said.

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What do we know about the people who suffered fatal injuries?

They were mostly male, white (non-Hispanic), and between the ages of 45 to 54 years. Most of them died of injuries sustained from transportation-related incidents.

There were far fewer women who died due to a worksite injury. Of the 101 people, 95 were men and six were women, primarily because there are less women who work in traditionally high-risk occupations.

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Which industries were the most hazardous?

Workers in the private sector were much more likely to suffer a fatal injury. Within that group, workers who provided some kind of service — such as transportation, warehousing and waste services — accounted for the most deaths.

Government employees had a far safer year: of the 101 deaths, 14 worked in the public sector.

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Photo by Chuck Gomez

Which occupations are most dangerous?

Moving things from one place to another can be especially dangerous, according to the data.

'Transportation and material moving occupations' saw the highest number of deaths at 27. The second most dangerous occupation involved similar work — construction and extraction — with 19 deaths.

Other dangerous occupations included installation, maintenance and repair, protective services and production.

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What are the leading causes of death on worksites?

The number one cause was 'transportation incidents,' primarily 'roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle' and 'pedestrian vehicular incidents.'

Keeping with national numbers, the second most common cause was 'falls, slips and trips,' causing 26 of the 101 deaths. Nationally, fatal work-related falls increased 26 percent from 2011 to 2016.

Other causes included 'exposure to harmful substances' and 'contact with object and equipment.'

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Which part of the body was injured the most frequently?

Injuries to the upper body were the most common, with multiple body parts being affected. Injuries to the head, chest (including ribs and internal organs) and back (including spine and spinal cord) were also listed.

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What can be done to improve safety in these industries?

According to Martino, workplace health and safety can be improved by thinking about issues from a 'systems of safety' perspective. It puts primary emphasis on the design and engineering of the workspace or production process. With that in place, a secondary system of safety can be developed that includes warning devices, communications, maintenance and inspection, and training and procedures.

Martino also said blaming workers for accidents was not the way to go.

"What employers should be doing is taking a close look at system failures every time there is an accident, near miss, or fatality," he said. "If those system failures are addressed and eliminated, then the next accident or fatality is far less likely to happen."

Below, find the occupations with the most fatalities from 1990 to 2013:

A note about the data: Most recently available statistics from the state Department of Health. Occupations were limited to those with 20 or more fatalities.

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16-20

20. Structural Iron and Steel Workers: 28

18. Tree Trimmers and Pruners: 29

18. First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers: 29

17. Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants: 31

16. Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators: 33

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11-15

14. Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners: 38

14. Carpenters: 38

13. Electricians: 46

12. Fishers and Related Fishing Workers: 47

11. Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors: 48

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6-10

10. Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers: 50

9. Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers: 51

8. Supervisors of Construction and Extraction Workers: 52

6. Roofers: 53

6. Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers: 53

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1-5

5. First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers: 63

4. Taxi Drivers and Chauffeurs: 67

3. Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand: 73

2. Construction Laborers: 177

1. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers: 250

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Patti Sapone

Read more NJ.com data reporting