Fewer workers died on the job in 2023 than in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
There were 5,283 fatal work injuries among U.S. workers in 2023, or a worker death every 99 minutes. In 2022, there were 5,486 workers in 2022, or a worker death every 96 minutes. That represents a decline of 3.7% percent year-over-year.
While progress was made year-over-year, injury rates have hovered around 5,000 for the past decade, with the lowest number of fatal work injuries in 2020, likely a result of COVID-19.
“These data provided by BLS make it clear more education and resources, such as policies and training, are needed to keep people safe on the job,” the National Safety Council said in a statement.
The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) issued a statement that it was encouraged by the latest data but acknowledge more work is needed.
“With many safety innovations readily available to employers everywhere, we must continue to decrease these numbers moving forward,” said ASSP President Pam Walaski, CSP, FASSP. “All workers deserve to return home safe and healthy at the end of the day. Most occupational incidents are preventable given today’s technologies and proven safety and health strategies.”
ASSP advocated for employers to adopt voluntary national consensus standards and follow other proven strategies, such as prevention through design and safety and health management systems, to make workplaces safer.
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) said in a statement that workers are key to reducing workplace fatalities, along with enforceable safety protections and effective safety committees.
"We know from long experience that the surest way to make our workplaces safer is to put workers at the center of the conversation," said Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of National COSH. "Workers know their jobs. They know where the hazards are and how to eliminate them.
"The way to achieve that goal is to listen to workers, take action and put their ideas into practice."
Other key findings from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data:
- Construction had the most fatalities (1,075) among all industry sectors in 2023 and was the highest for the sector dating back to 2011. Falls, slips, and trips accounted for 39.2% of all fatalities, followed by transportation incidents at 22.3%
- Transportation is the most dangerous event or exposure category at 1,942 incidents, more than double that of the second category of falls, slips and trips, which saw 885 incidents.
- The fatal injury count and rate for Black or African American workers decreased from 734 in 2022 to 659 in 2023.
- The fatal injury count and rate for Hispanic or Latino workers increased marginally from 1,248 in 2022 to 1,250 in 2023.
- There were 740 fatalities due to violent acts, and homicides comprised the majority (61.9%).
- Women accounted for 8.5% of all fatalities but accounted for 18.3% of homicides in 2023.
- Women had the highest number of fatalities in the private health care and social assistance industry sector (63) followed by the retail trade sector (59)
- Opioids were the primary source of 162 fatalities and contributed in an additional 144 fatalities where multiple drugs were the source.
