Detailed nonfatal data starting in 2023-2024
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has transitioned from an annual to a biennial (every two years) publication schedule. The final publication of a single year of cases involving days away from work estimates was for reference year 2020. The most recent BLS detailed data cover 2023 and 2024 for Days Away from Work (DAFW), Days of Job Transfer or Restriction (DJTR), and Days Away from Work, Job Restriction, or Transfer (DART) cases.
New event categories starting in 2023
BLS updated the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System starting with the 2023 data year. The update includes changes to how injury and illness events are classified. This change is considered a data break, therefore, comparing counts to previous years is often unavailable and, when available, should be done with caution. Currently, 2024 fatality data are using the new classification categories, while the most recent nonfatal 2023-2024 data use the previous classification categories.
Assaults are the fourth leading cause of work-related deaths. Assaults resulted in 77,780 DART cases (including 54,230 DAFW cases) in 2023-2024 and 470 fatalities in 2024. Assaults are categorized as violent acts by another person and include several types of events:
- Injuries that are the result of violent acts by persons other than the injured worker when it is known that the act was intentional.
- The injured worker could be the intended target or an inadvertent victim.
- The worker could be physically injured or experience stress from the intentional violent action of another person.
- Injuries or distress sustained while attempting to restrain a person acting violently or while breaking up a fight; stress from being present during a violent act by a person which could result in physical harm to the worker, even if no injury occurs.
This infographic provides an overview of the nonfatal trends. The data on nonfatal cases cover occupational injuries and illnesses and come from the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) for 2011-2024. From 2011 through 2020, annual estimates are available for the number of DAFW cases (with or without days of restricted work activity). Starting in 2021, biennial estimates are available for DAFW, DJTR, and DART cases. Fatality estimates continue to be available annually. However, BLS updated the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System starting with the 2023 data year. The update includes changes to how injury and illness events are classified. This change is considered a data break, therefore comparing counts to previous years should be done with caution. Explore the data details tab for additional information on demographics, industry, occupation, days lost, and historic trends.