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Economic News Release
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Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2022

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, December 19, 2023                                                       USDL-23-2615
Technical information:	(202) 691-6170 • iifstaff@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/iif
Media contact:		(202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

NATIONAL CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES IN 2022
There were 5,486 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2022, a 5.7-percent increase from 5,190 
in 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.) The fatal work injury 
rate was 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, up from 3.6 per 100,000 FTE in 2021. 
(See chart 2.) These data are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

(Charts 1 and 2 appear here in the printed release) 
             
Key findings

  - A worker died every 96 minutes from a work-related injury in 2022 compared to 101 minutes in 2021.
  - Fatalities due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased 11.6 percent to 849 in 2022, 
    compared to 761 in 2021. Homicides accounted for 61.7 percent of these fatalities, with 524 deaths, an 
    8.9-percent increase from 2021.
  - Unintentional overdoses increased 13.1 percent to a series high of 525 fatalities in 2022, up from 464 in 2021, 
    continuing a trend of annual increases since 2012. 
  - Workers in transportation and material moving occupations experienced 1,620 fatal work injuries in 2022 
    and represented the occupational group with the most fatalities. The next highest was construction and 
    extraction workers with 1,056 fatalities, an 11.0-percent increase from 2021. 
  - Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal event accounting for 37.7 percent of all 
    occupational fatalities. There were 2,066 fatal injuries from transportation incidents in 2022, a 4.2-percent 
    increase from 1,982 in 2021. 

Worker characteristics

  - The fatal injury rate for Black or African American workers and for Hispanic or Latino workers increased 
    from 2021 to 2022 with rates up from 4.0 to 4.2 and 4.5 to 4.6 per 100,000 FTE workers, respectively. 
    The rates for these groups were both higher than the all-worker rate of 3.7. 
  - Transportation incidents were the highest cause of fatalities within both groups, with 278 for Black or African 
    American workers and 439 for Hispanic or Latino workers. 
  - The second highest cause of fatalities to Black or African American workers was injuries due to violence and other 
    injuries by persons or animals (199), while for Hispanic or Latino workers it was falls, slips, or trips (286). 
  - Foreign-born Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 63.5 percent (792) of total Hispanic or Latino worker 
    fatalities (1,248). Fatalities in the construction industry accounted for 316 of the 792 foreign-born Hispanic 
    or Latino worker deaths in 2022. 
  - Black or African American fatalities accounted for 13.4 percent (734) of all fatalities in 2022 but represented 
    33.4 percent (175) of fatalities from homicides.
  - Similarly, women made up 8.1 percent (445) of all workplace fatalities but accounted for 15.3 percent (80) of 
    homicides in 2022.
  - Workers in the 55 to 64 age group continued to have the highest number of fatalities in 2022 with 1,175 (21.4 
    percent of total fatalities), up from 1,140 in 2021. Transportation incidents were the highest cause of fatalities 
	for this age group (455), followed by falls, slips, and trips (251). 

Fatal event or exposure

  - Despite consecutive increases in 2021 and 2022, transportation incidents were still down 2.6 percent from 
    pre-pandemic levels in 2019 when there were 2,122 fatalities. (See chart 3.)
  - Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles increased 9.3 percent between 2021 and 2022, leading to a 
    series high of 1,369 fatalities. Pedestrian vehicular incidents were down 3.6 percent in 2022 with 325 fatalities, 
    which is the lowest number of fatalities since 2018.
  - Suicides increased 13.1 percent to 267 fatalities in 2022. This followed consecutive decreases in both 2020 and 2021.
  - Exposure to harmful substances or environments increased 5.1 percent in 2022 and led to 839 worker fatalities. 
    This increase was largely due to the increase in unintentional overdoses which accounted for over 60 percent of 
    fatalities in this category. 
  - Fatalities due to exposure to temperature extremes increased 18.6 percent in 2022, rising to 51 from 43 in 2021. 
    Fatalities specifically due to environmental heat were 43 in 2022, up from 36 in 2021. 
  - Almost a quarter (24.6 percent) of fatalities due to homicides occurred while a worker was tending a retail 
    establishment or waiting on customers.
  - Fatalities due to contact with objects and equipment increased 4.7 percent from 705 fatalities in 2021 to 738 
    in 2022. This is the highest count for this event category since 2018. Machinery was the source of 199 fatalities 
    within this category.
  - Work-related fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips increased 1.8 percent in 2022, resulting in 865 fatalities, 
    up from 850 in 2021. Most fatalities in this category (80.9 percent) were due to falls to lower levels, which had 
    700 fatalities in 2022. This was a 2.9-percent increase from 680 fatalities in 2021.

(Chart 3 appears here in the printed release)

Occupation

  - With a rate of 14.6 fatalities per 100,000 FTE workers, transportation and material moving occupations had the most 
    fatalities in 2022 (1,620), up from 1,523 in 2021. The increase was due to fatalities to driver/sales workers and 
    truck drivers increasing by 8.0 percent, from 1,032 fatalities in 2021 to 1,115 in 2022.
  - Workers in construction and extraction occupations had the second most fatalities (1,056) in 2022 compared to other 
    occupation groups. Falls, slips, or trips were the events precipitating 423 of these fatalities. The fatality 
    rate for this occupation group increased from 12.3 deaths per 100,000 FTE workers in 2021 to 13.0 in 2022.
  - Fatalities among protective service occupations increased 10.9 percent in 2022, rising to 335 from 302 in 2021. 
    The rate for this occupational group increased to 10.2 fatalities per 100,000 FTE workers in 2022, up from 9.4 in 2021. 
    Homicides (121) and suicides (17) accounted for 41.2 percent of these fatalities. 
  - The number and rate of fatalities for installation, maintenance, and repair occupations decreased in 2022. The total 
    fatalities decreased to 431 in 2022 from 475 in 2021 and the rate decreased to 8.8 fatalities per 100,000 FTE workers 
    from 9.7 in 2021. Work fatalities among building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers also decreased in 
    2022 to 352 from 356 in 2021. The 2022 rate was 7.4 and in 2021 it was 7.6. 
  - Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations had the highest fatality rate (23.5 fatalities per 100,000 FTE workers) 
    of all occupational groups in 2022, up from 20.0 in 2021.


Fatal injury counts and rates by occupation, industry, and worker demographics are available at 
www.bls.gov/iif/fatal-injuries-tables.htm.

(Chart 4 appears here in the printed release)

Last Modified Date: December 19, 2023