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Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities

Workplace Violence 2021 - 2022


Nonfatal Injuries and Illnesses

Over the 2021-2022 period, there were 57,610 nonfatal cases of workplace violence requiring days away from work, job restriction, or transfer (DART), which occurred at an annualized incidence rate of 2.9 cases per 10,000 full-time equivalent employees. Of these cases, 71.6 percent (41,270 cases) resulted in at least one day away from work with a median of 7 days away. The remaining cases (28.4 percent or 16,340 cases) required days of job transfer or restriction, with a median of 13 days. Days away from work cases generally indicate that an injury is more severe.

Gender

Women accounted for 72.5 percent of all nonfatal workplace violence cases, with 41,750 DART cases. These occurred at an annualized incidence rate of 5.0 cases per 10,000 full-time workers, higher than the rate for men at 1.4 cases per 10,000 full-time workers (See Table 1).

Table 1. Annualized incidence rate and case counts for cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer (DART) due to intentional injury by other person, private industry, All U.S., 2021-2022
Incidence rate - Violence Case count - Violence Incidence rate - Total Case count - Total

Total

2.9 57,610 169.9 3,379,220

Men

1.4 15,370 164.2 1,848,090

Women

5.0 41,750 177.4 1,491,160

Industry

Health care and social assistance experienced the highest counts and annualized incidence rates for workplace violence of any private industry sector over the two-year period from 2021-2022. Women made up 78.2 percent of employees in Health care and social assistance in 2022. There were 41,960 total nonfatal cases of workplace violence requiring days away from work, job restriction, or transfer in the health care and social assistance industry over this time, accounting for 72.8 percent of all cases in private industry over the two-year period. These cases occurred at an annualized incidence rate of 14.2 cases per 10,000 full-time workers (See Chart 1).

Of the total workplace violence cases in health care and social assistance from 2021 to 2022, 69.0 percent (28,970 cases) required days away from work, and 30.9 percent (12,980 cases) required days of job transfer or restriction.

Educational services had an annualized incidence rate of 8.4 DART cases per 10,000 full-time workers for cases involving workplace violence. Women made up 68.9 percent of employees in Educational services in 2022.  Of the 3,300 total cases in Educational services, 77.6 percent (2,560 cases) required days away from work, and 22.4 percent (740 cases) required days of job transfer or restriction.

Occupational Group

Service occupations (e.g. nursing assistants, security guards, cooks etc.) had 25,320 total DART cases due to intentional injury by other person over the 2021-2022 time period. These occurred at an annualized incidence rate of 7.4 cases per 10,000 full-time workers. Of these, 70.8 percent (17,920 cases) required days away from work, and 29.2 percent (7,390 cases) required days of job transfer or restriction. Among detailed service occupations, psychiatric aides experienced a DART rate due to workplace violence at 543.6 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations had 14,040 total DART cases due to intentional injury by person, which required a median of 12 days away from work, job restriction, or transfer.

For Transportation and material moving occupations and Sales and related occupations, workplace violence resulted in days away from work in 81.6 percent (1,990 cases) and 84.6 percent (2,040 cases) of cases, respectively.

State

While California and New York had the highest counts for workplace violence over the 2021-2022 period, analyzing workplace violence by incidence rates provides a clearer picture of which workers faced the greatest risk of workplace violence.

Vermont had an annualized incidence rate of 7.8 cases of workplace violence per 10,000 full-time workers and Massachusetts had a rate of 6.1. In comparison, both Arkansas and Nebraska had rates of 1.4 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.

Fatal Injuries

There were 524 fatal injuries due to homicides (intentional injury by other person) in the workplace in 2022, an 8.9 percent increase from 481 in 2021 and a series high dating back to 2011. Of the 524 workplace fatalities due to homicides in 2022, gunshot wounds accounted for 435, or 83.0 percent, of the total.


Black or African American workers accounted for about one-third (33.4 percent or 175 fatalities) of the total fatalities due to homicides in 2022 but accounted for only 13.4 percent of the total fatal injuries in 2022. The two occupational groups with the highest Homicide count in 2022 were Protective Service (121) and Transportation and Material Moving (76). Black or African American workers made up 20.9 percent and 20.3 percent of these occupational groups, respectively, compared to their 12.6 percent share of the total workforce. Women accounted for 15.3 percent (80 fatalities) of total workplace fatalities due to homicides in 2022, nearly twice their share of all workplace fatalities in the same year. 

About a quarter (24.6 percent) of fatalities due to homicides occurred while a worker was tending a retail establishment or waiting on customers. Nearly half (45.2 percent) of workplace homicides happened in a public building.

State

There are 21 states with publishable data for 2022 for fatalities due to homicides. Of these states, California had 54 fatalities, Texas had 48 fatalities, and Georgia had 33. Together, these three states made up 25.8 percent of workplace fatalities due to homicides. Population size and industry makeup contribute to some states having higher workplace homicide counts than others.

More Information

The Bureau of Labor Statistics produces statistics on a wide range of information about nonfatal and fatal injuries, including workplace violence. The Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program uses the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) Manual to code the case characteristics of injuries, illnesses, and fatal injuries. The code used to classify cases of workplace violence is event code 111: Intentional injury by other person.

The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) publishes estimates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses. Estimates for detailed case characteristics and worker demographics for cases involving days away from work (DAFW) and for cases involving days of job transfer or restriction (DJTR) are for a combined 2-year period (for example reference year 2021-22). These are released biennially (every 2 years).

Data for fatal occupational injuries come from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) and are published on an annual basis.

  • Factsheet on workplace violence in healthcare, 2018

  • TED on homicides and other workplace assaults by gender in 2019

  • TED on workplace violence: homicides and nonfatal intentional injuries by another person in 2020

  • Report on indicators of workplace violence, 2019.

For technical information and definitions, please see the SOII Handbook of Methods and CFOI Handbook of Methods.

You can find data from the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program by using the following tools.: Create Customized Tables (Multiple Screens)Create Customized Tables (Single Screen), and the Online Profiles System. Additional tables and charts are on the IIF homepage and the IIF State page.

Last Modified Date: October 08, 2024