U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data indicate a 5% decrease in preventable deaths, from 4,543 in 2023 to 4,337 in 2024. This corresponds to less than a 1% growth in the workforce, from 162,102,000 workers in 2023 to 162,406,000 in 2024. Consequently, the death rate also decreased 5%, from 3.0 per 100,000 workers in 2023 to 2.9 in 2024. This is the second consecutive decrease in the preventable death rate following two years of increasing rates and matches the rate last achieved in 2013. Noteworthy, homicides and suicides (excluded from preventable-injury estimates) experienced a 1% decrease from 740 in 2023 to 733 in 2024, but the rate was unchanged at 0.5 deaths per 100,000 workers.
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Source: Deaths are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). Employment is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and is based on the Current Population Survey. All other data are National Safety Council (NSC) estimates.
Note: Starting in 2008, BLS moved from employment-based rates to hours-based rates to measure fatal injury risk per standardized length of exposure, which are generally considered more accurate than employment-based rates. Caution should be used when comparing with rates prior to 2008.