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Workers’ Memorial Day, observed each year on April 28, honors workers killed, injured, or made ill at work. In 2013, 4,585 workers in the United States died from an injury suffered at work. This is the second-lowest figure since BLS began publishing national data in 1992. Although fatal workplace injuries have fallen 23 percent since 2000, a worker died every 2 hours in the United States from a workplace injury in 2013.
Year | Total | Younger than age 20 | Ages 20 to 24 | Ages 25 to 34 | Ages 35 to 44 | Ages 45 to 54 | Ages 55 to 64 | Age 65 and older |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 |
6,217 | 175 | 544 | 1,556 | 1,538 | 1,167 | 767 | 467 |
1993 |
6,331 | 170 | 508 | 1,521 | 1,584 | 1,204 | 811 | 522 |
1994 |
6,632 | 181 | 545 | 1,567 | 1,619 | 1,310 | 866 | 525 |
1995 |
6,275 | 198 | 486 | 1,409 | 1,571 | 1,256 | 827 | 515 |
1996 |
6,202 | 195 | 444 | 1,362 | 1,586 | 1,242 | 855 | 504 |
1997 |
6,238 | 175 | 503 | 1,325 | 1,524 | 1,302 | 875 | 520 |
1998 |
6,055 | 202 | 421 | 1,238 | 1,525 | 1,279 | 836 | 541 |
1999 |
6,054 | 194 | 451 | 1,175 | 1,510 | 1,333 | 816 | 565 |
2000 |
5,920 | 200 | 446 | 1,163 | 1,473 | 1,313 | 831 | 488 |
2001(1) |
5,915 | 175 | 441 | 1,142 | 1,478 | 1,368 | 775 | 530 |
2002 |
5,534 | 133 | 436 | 1,023 | 1,403 | 1,253 | 784 | 495 |
2003 |
5,575 | 137 | 462 | 1,018 | 1,329 | 1,301 | 802 | 523 |
2004 |
5,764 | 141 | 421 | 996 | 1,342 | 1,384 | 907 | 569 |
2005 |
5,734 | 165 | 403 | 1,017 | 1,243 | 1,389 | 933 | 578 |
2006 |
5,840 | 138 | 390 | 1,041 | 1,288 | 1,417 | 963 | 599 |
2007 |
5,657 | 135 | 424 | 991 | 1,168 | 1,425 | 934 | 574 |
2008 |
5,214 | 100 | 353 | 850 | 1,113 | 1,292 | 920 | 580 |
2009 |
4,551 | 84 | 275 | 704 | 908 | 1,173 | 853 | 551 |
2010 |
4,690 | 90 | 245 | 785 | 868 | 1,169 | 948 | 582 |
2011 |
4,693 | 84 | 292 | 714 | 875 | 1,222 | 936 | 569 |
2012 |
4,628 | 88 | 287 | 736 | 829 | 1,161 | 936 | 588 |
2013 |
4,585 | 71 | 279 | 777 | 853 | 1,115 | 933 | 557 |
Footnotes: (1) Data for 2001 exclude fatal work injuries that resulted from the September 11 terrorist attacks. Note: The total for each year includes fatal work injuries for which the worker's age was not known. |
The rate of fatal workplace injuries has fallen since 2006, the first year that BLS published hours-based rates. The overall national rate of 3.3 fatal workplace injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2013 was the lowest published hours-based rate since 2006.
Age | Rate |
---|---|
Total, all ages |
3.3 |
Ages 18 to 19 |
2.6 |
Ages 20 to 24 |
2.2 |
Ages 25 to 34 |
2.5 |
Ages 35 to 44 |
2.8 |
Ages 45 to 54 |
3.4 |
Ages 55 to 64 |
4.1 |
Age 65 and older |
9.2 |
Fatal injuries affect workers of all ages. In 2013, 5 workers under age 16 and 3 workers age 90 or older died from workplace injuries. Older workers have higher rates of fatal injury than younger workers; workers age 65 and older had a rate that was more than double the rate for all workers in 2013.
These data are from the BLS Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. BLS published the final counts of fatal work injuries in the United States in 2013 on April 22, 2015. You can learn more about Workers’ Memorial Day from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Fatal injuries in U.S. workplaces fall over the last two decades at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/fatal-injuries-in-u-s-workplaces-fall-over-the-last-two-decades.htm (visited March 24, 2025).