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News Release Information

24-255-ATL
Friday, February 16, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Fatal Occupational Injuries in Florida — 2022

Fatal work injuries totaled 307 in 2022 for Florida, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Florida was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 422 in 2004 to a low of 218 in 2012. Nationwide, a total of 5,486 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2022, a 5.7-percent increase from 5,190 in 2021, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

Fatal event or exposure

In Florida, transportation incidents resulted in 102 fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips accounted for 78 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 59 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 111 over the year, and worker fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips were up from 69.

Exposure to harmful substances or environments was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 53 fatalities, down from 59 in the prior year.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in 2022, accounting for 38 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips were the second-most common fatal event (16 percent), followed by violence and other injuries by persons or animals along with exposure to harmful substances or environments (15 percent each).

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Florida with 91, up from 76 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, and trips resulted in 46 of the 91 fatalities in the industry. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 57, or 63 percent, of the 91 fatal workplace injuries in the construction industry.

The private transportation and warehousing industry sector had 49 fatal workplace injuries, equal to the previous year. The general freight trucking industry group accounted for 19, or 39 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

The private administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industry sector had 46 fatal workplace injuries, down from 49 in the previous year. The landscaping services industry accounted for 22, or 48 percent, of these fatal injuries.

Occupation

The construction and extraction occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 90. (See table 3.) Construction laborers accounted for 31 of the 90 fatalities among construction and extraction workers. The transportation and material moving occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 81. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 43 of the occupational fatalities within this occupational group.

Additional highlights
  • Men accounted for 93 percent of the work-related fatalities in Florida, compared to the national share of 92 percent. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 34 percent of the fatalities for men in Florida.
  • White non-Hispanics accounted for 50 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 58 percent of work-related deaths.
  • Workers 55-64 years old accounted for 25 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2022, compared to 21 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
  • Of the 307 fatal work injuries in Florida, 90 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers and for self-employed workers was transportation incidents.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, is a count of all fatalities resulting from workplace injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI uses a variety of state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This ensures counts are as complete and accurate as possible. For the 2022 national data, over 27,200 unique source documents were reviewed as part of the data collection process. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI, see the BLS Handbook of Methods and the CFOI definitions.

Federal/State agency coverage. The CFOI includes data for all fatal work injuries, some of which may be outside the scope of other agencies or regulatory coverage. Comparisons between CFOI counts and those released by other agencies should account for the different coverage requirements and definitions used by each agency. For more information on the scope of CFOI, see Scope of the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: Concepts.

Latency Cases. Latent fatal occupational injury cases occur when the date of injury differs from the date of death. In some cases, the death occurs in a different year than the occupational injury and are known as cross-year latent cases. In 2022, there were 186 cases nationally where this occurred, and 157 of these latent cases occurred more than 30 days prior to the start of 2022. For more information on latent cases, see Understanding latency in fatal occupational injuries.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. CFOI reports fatal workplace injuries only. These may include fatal workplace injuries complicated by an illness such as COVID-19. Fatal workplace illnesses not precipitated by an injury are not in scope for CFOI. CFOI does not report any illness related information, including COVID-19. Additional information is available on the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, Compensation, Occupational Requirements, and Work Stoppages Statistics.

Acknowledgments. BLS appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that provided source documents used to identify fatal work injuries. Among these agencies are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety and Health Administration; the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; state vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; state departments of health, labor, and industrial relations and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Florida, 2021–22
Event or exposure (1) 2021 2022
Number Number Percent

Total

315 307 100

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

34 33 11

Intentional injury by person

-- 27 9

Homicides--Intentional injury by other person

-- 17 6

Shooting by other person--intentional

-- 15 5

Transportation incidents

111 102 33

Pedestrian vehicular incident

21 27 9

Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle

61 60 20

Roadway collision with other vehicle

30 37 12

Roadway collision with object other than vehicle

17 17 6

Fires and explosions

3 8 3

Falls, slips, trips

69 78 25

Falls to lower level

57 63 21

Exposure to harmful substances or environments

59 53 17

Exposure to electricity

16 20 7

Exposure to other harmful substances

30 23 7

Contact with objects and equipment

39 33 11

Struck by object or equipment

28 22 7

Overexertion and bodily reaction

-- -- --

Footnotes:
(1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward.

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Florida, 2021–22
Industry (1) 2021 2022
Number Number Percent

Total

315 307 100

Private Industry (2)

284 285 93

Goods producing

-- -- --

Natural resources and mining

-- 10 3

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

24 10 3

Construction

76 91 30

Construction

76 91 30

Construction of buildings

-- 14 5

Heavy and civil engineering construction

11 14 5

Specialty trade contractors

56 57 19

Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors

30 32 10

Roofing contractors

17 15 5

Manufacturing

12 14 5

Service providing (3)

-- -- --

Trade, transportation, and utilities

-- 73 24

Wholesale trade

9 6 2

Retail trade

13 18 6

Transportation and warehousing

49 49 16

Truck transportation

31 28 9

General freight trucking

-- 19 6

Information

-- 3 1

Financial activities

6 -- --

Professional and business services

53 50 16

Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services

49 46 15

Administrative and support services

-- 39 13

Services to buildings and dwellings

-- 28 9

Landscaping services

-- 22 7

Educational and health services

11 -- --

Leisure and hospitality

13 12 4

Other services, except public administration

14 17 6

Public administration

-- -- --

Government (4)

31 22 7

Federal government

8 6 2

State government

3 5 2

Local government

20 11 4

Footnotes:
(1) CFOI has used several versions of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) since 2003 to define industry. For complete information on the version of NAICS used in this year, see our concepts page at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm#industry.
(2) Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts.
(3) Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts.
(4) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. Cases classified as foreign government and other government are included in all government counts, but not displayed separately.

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Florida, 2021–22
Occupation (1) 2021 2022
Number Number Percent

Total

315 307 100

Management occupations

6 4 1

Business and financial operations occupations

-- 5 2

Computer and mathematical occupations

-- -- --

Architecture and engineering occupations

5 -- --

Life, physical, and social science occupations

-- -- --

Community and social service occupations

-- -- --

Legal occupations

-- -- --

Educational instruction and library occupations

-- -- --

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

4 5 2

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

4 3 1

Healthcare support occupations

-- -- --

Protective service occupations

19 20 7

Food preparation and serving related occupations

-- 3 1

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

44 31 10

Grounds maintenance workers

33 23 7

Grounds maintenance workers

33 23 7

Landscaping and groundskeeping workers

27 19 6

Personal care and service occupations

4 8 3

Sales and related occupations

7 9 3

Office and administrative support occupations

5 -- --

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

11 6 2

Construction and extraction occupations

69 90 29

Construction trades workers

57 80 26

Construction laborers

16 31 10

Roofers

16 14 5

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

33 22 7

Production occupations

12 9 3

Transportation and material moving occupations

80 81 26

Motor vehicle operators

58 62 20

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

54 59 19

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

38 43 14

Material moving workers

10 15 5

Footnotes:
(1) CFOI has used several versions of the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) system since 2003 to define occupation. For complete information on the version of SOC used in these years, see our definitions page at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm#occupation. Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, Florida, 2021–22
Worker characteristics 2021 2022
Number Number Percent

Total

315 307 100

Employee status

Wage and salary workers (1)

275 277 90

Self-employed (2)

40 30 10

Gender

Men

283 287 93

Women

32 20 7

Age (3)

18 to 19 years

3 6 2

20 to 24 years

15 21 7

25 to 34 years

55 55 18

35 to 44 years

50 61 20

45 to 54 years

74 49 16

55 to 64 years

76 78 25

65 years and over

42 37 12

Race or ethnic origin (4)

White, non-Hispanic

170 152 50

Black or African-American, non-Hispanic

43 45 15

Hispanic or Latino

96 104 34

Asian, non-Hispanic

-- 4 1

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic

-- -- --

Footnotes:
(1) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. Cases where employment status is unknown are included in the counts of wage and salary workers.
(2) Includes self-employed workers, owners of unincorporated businesses and farms, paid and unpaid family workers, and may include some owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships.
(3) Information may not be available for all age groups.
(4) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude data for Hispanics and Latinos. Cases where ethnicity is unknown are included in counts of non-Hispanic workers.

NOTE: Data for all years are revised and final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, February 16, 2024