Fatal Work Injuries in New Jersey — 2024

Fatal work injuries totaled 84 in 2024 for New Jersey, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in New Jersey were up 3.7 percent from 81 in 2023. (See chart 1.) The fatal work injury rate was 1.9 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers in 2024, an increase from a rate of 1.8 in 2023. Nationwide, a total of 5,070 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2024, a 4.0-percent decrease from 5,283 in 2023. These data are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

Stacked column chart of fatal occupational injuries by employee status in New Jersey, 2015–24. Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Number of fatal occupational injuries by employee status, New Jersey, 2015–24
Year	Total	Wage and salary	Self-employed
2015	97	83	14
2016	101	85	16
2017	69	50	19
2018	83	68	15
2019	74	56	18
2020	82	66	16
2021	110	90	20
2022	116	95	21
2023	81	64	17
2024	84	70	14
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fatal event or exposure

Transportation incidents (36) were the most frequent type of fatal event in New Jersey, accounting for 43 percent of all fatal work injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Nationally the share was 38 percent. Worker deaths from transportation incidents increased by 19 cases over the year (up from 17 in 2023).

Falls, slips, trips (17) accounted for 20 percent of New Jersey worker fatalities; nationally the share was 17 percent.

Clustered column chart of percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and New Jersey, 2024. Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and New Jersey, 2024
Event	United States	New Jersey
Transportation incidents	38	43
Falls, slips, trips	17	20
Contact incidents	15	13
Exposure to harmful substances, environments	14	12
All other	17	12
Note: Percents may not add to total due to rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Private industry

The construction sector tied for the highest number of fatalities with 17. (See table 2.) Fatal falls, slips, and trips resulted in 7 of the 17 construction sector fatalities. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 11 of the sector’s fatal workplace injuries.
The transportation and warehousing sector also had 17 fatalities. Transportation incidents were the most frequent type of fatal event, accounting for 13 of the transportation and warehousing sector’s 17 fatalities. The truck transportation subsector accounted for eight of the sector’s fatal workplace injuries.

Occupation

Transportation and material moving occupations experienced the largest increase (+6) in fatal work injuries over the year among the major occupational groups. (See table 3.)
The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 25. Transportation incidents resulted in 19 fatalities among these workers. Motor vehicle operators accounted for 18 of the major group’s 25 fatal workplace injuries.

Worker characteristics

Wage and salary workers accounted for 83 percent of fatal workplace injuries in New Jersey; the self-employed comprised the remaining 17 percent. (See chart 1 and table 4.) Nationally, wage and salary workers comprised 82 percent of fatalities.
Fatal workplace injuries among female workers increased from four to eight, with transportation incidents accounting for 75 percent of fatal events in 2024.
White non-Hispanics accounted for 32 percent of those who died from a workplace injury in 2024, a decrease from 63 percent in 2023. Nationwide, this group accounted for 56 percent of work-related deaths in 2024.

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. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI, see the national CFOI release Technical notes, the BLS Handbook of Methods, and the CFOI definitions.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the New Jersey Department of Health for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that provided source documents used to identify fatal work injuries nationally. See the national CFOI release Technical Notes for details on cooperating entities.

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Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, New Jersey, 2023–24
Event or Exposure (1)	2023	2024
Event or Exposure (1)	Number	Number	Percent (%)
All events and exposures	81	84	100
Transportation incidents	17	36	43
Pedestrian incidents involving motorized land vehicles	4	16	19
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	--	7	8
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	10	17	20
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)	4	13	15
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)-intersecting, turning	--	3	4
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)-moving in same direction	--	7	8
Falls, slips, trips	19	17	20
Fall to lower level	15	15	18
Other fall to lower level	12	12	14
Other fall to lower level- 6 to 30 feet	5	7	8
Other fall to lower level- more than 30 feet	3	3	4
Exposure to harmful substances, environments	19	10	12
Exposure to harmful substances	19	5	6
Drug, alcohol overdose	--	5	6
Contact incidents	13	11	13
Struck by propelled, falling, or suspended object	5	4	5
Struck by falling object	--	3	4
Struck, caught, or compressed by running powered equipment	4	5	6
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) version 3 implemented for 2023 data forward.
Note: The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) has published data on fatal occupational injuries for the United States since 1992. During this time, the classification systems and definitions of many data elements have changed. See the CFOI Definitions page (www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm) for a more detailed description of each data element. 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, New Jersey, 2023–24
Industry	2023	2024
Industry	Number	Number	Percent (%)
Total	81	84	100
Private industry (1)	70	74	88
Natural resources and mining	3	--	--
Construction	18	17	20
Construction	18	17	20
Specialty trade contractors	11	11	13
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	4	5	6
Roofing contractors	--	3	4
Other specialty trade contractors	--	3	4
Site preparation contractors	--	3	4
Manufacturing	6	4	5
Manufacturing	6	4	5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	--	--	--
Wholesale trade	--	4	5
Retail trade	5	7	8
Transportation and warehousing	12	17	20
Truck transportation	6	8	10
General freight trucking	3	6	7
General freight trucking, long-distance	--	3	4
Transit and ground passenger transportation	3	5	6
Information	--	--	--
Financial activities	--	--	--
Professional and business services	8	13	15
Professional, scientific, and technical services	--	3	4
Professional, scientific, and technical services	--	3	4
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	5	10	12
Administrative and support services	--	6	7
Services to buildings and dwellings	--	6	7
Landscaping services	--	6	7
Waste management and remediation services	--	4	5
Educational and health services	--	--	--
Health care and social assistance	--	3	4
Leisure and hospitality	4	--	--
Other services (except public administration)	7	3	4
Other services (except public administration)	7	3	4
Repair and maintenance	4	3	4
Government (2)	11	10	12
Federal government	--	--	--
State government	--	--	--
Local government	--	7	8
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 https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm#industry. (2) 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: The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) has published data on fatal occupational injuries for the United States since 1992. During this time, the classification systems and definitions of many data elements have changed. See the CFOI Definitions page (www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm) for a more detailed description of each data element. 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, New Jersey, 2023–24
Occupation (1)	2023	2024
Occupation (1)	Number	Number	Percent (%)
All occupations	81	84	100
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	3	4
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	5	8	10
Grounds maintenance workers	--	5	6
Grounds maintenance workers	--	5	6
Sales and related occupations	--	6	7
Construction and extraction occupations	16	18	21
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	5	3	4
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	5	3	4
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	5	3	4
Construction trades workers	11	12	14
Construction laborers	6	7	8
Construction laborers	6	7	8
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	10	9	11
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	5	6
Transportation and material moving occupations	19	25	30
Motor vehicle operators	14	18	21
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	11	13	15
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	8	11	13
Passenger vehicle drivers	3	5	6
Material moving workers	--	4	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 the CFOI definitions page (www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm). Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.
Note: The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) has published data on fatal occupational injuries for the United States since 1992. During this time, the classification systems and definitions of many data elements have changed. See the CFOI Definitions page (www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm) for a more detailed description of each data element. 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, New Jersey, 2023–24
Demographic	2023	2024
Demographic	Number	Number	Percent (%)
Total	81	84	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	64	70	83
Self-employed (2)	17	14	17
Sex
Male	77	76	90
Female	4	8	10
Age (3)
Under 16 years	--	--	--
16 to 17 years	--	--	--
18 to 19 years	--	--	--
20 to 24 years	--	8	10
25 to 34 years	11	16	19
35 to 44 years	18	8	10
45 to 54 years	15	20	24
55 to 64 years	21	19	23
65 years and over	11	13	15
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	51	27	32
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	--	14	17
Hispanic or Latino	20	36	43
American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic	--	--	--
Asian, non-Hispanic	--	--	--
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic	--	--	--
Person of multiple races, non-Hispanic	--	--	--
Other or not reported, 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: The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) has published data on fatal occupational injuries for the United States since 1992. During this time, the classification systems and definitions of many data elements have changed. See the CFOI Definitions page (www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm) for a more detailed description of each data element. 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: Thursday, March 19, 2026

Mid-Atlantic Information Office

Fatal Work Injuries in New Jersey — 2024