Work Safety Introduction
The number of preventable work deaths decreased 9% in 2021, totaling 4,472. In addition to preventable fatal work injuries, 718 homicides and suicides occurred in the workplace in 2021. These intentional injuries are not included in the preventable-injury estimates.
The large increase in preventable work death in 2021 is partially a result of a 5% increase in the hours worked resulting from the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in hours worked does not fully account for the increase in work deaths. The preventable injury death rate of 3.1 per 100,000 workers is up from 3.0 in 2020. Work-related medically consulted injuries totaled 4.26 million in 2021.
2021 Occupational Safety Highlights
Preventable injury-related deaths | 4,472 |
Preventable injury-related deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers | 3.1 |
Medically consulted injuries | 4,260,000 |
Workers | 152,581 |
Costs | Not yet available |
Source: Deaths reflect National Safety Council (NSC) analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). All other figures are NSC estimates based on data from BLS.
In 2021, the industry sector experiencing the largest number of preventable fatal injuries was construction, followed by transportation and warehousing. The industry sector experiencing the highest fatality rates per 100,000 workers was agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, followed by mining.
Please note: Fatality counts for both professional and business services, as well as government, are NSC estimates and may be underestimates. BLS indicates that these industries did not meet publishable standards for 2021. BLS suppresses industry estimates if they don’t meet certain criteria for both reliability and confidentiality.
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- Data Table
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- Data Table
Preventable injuries at work by industry, United States, 2021
Hours worked(a) (millions) |
Deaths(a) | Deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers(a) | Medically consulted injuries | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 |
Change from 2020 |
2021 |
Change from 2020 |
||
311(c) | |||||
333 |
(a) Deaths include persons of all ages. Workers and death rates include persons 16 years and older. The rate is calculated as: (number of fatal work injuries x 200,000,000/total hours worked). The base for 100,000 full-time equivalent workers is 200,000,000 hours. Prior to 2008, rates were based on estimated employment – not hours worked.
(b) Agriculture includes forestry, fishing, and hunting. Mining includes oil and gas extraction. “Other services” excludes public administration.
(c) BLS did not report the total number of deaths for several industry sectors. The NSC estimate is based on the partial data reported for this industry by injury event.
Source: NSC analysis of data from the BLS CFOI surveillance program.