Fatal work injuries totaled 140 in 2021 for Michigan, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Michigan was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 182 in 1999 to a low of 94 in 2009.

Nationwide, a total of 5,190 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2021, a 9-percent increase from 4,764 in 2020, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

Fatal event or exposure

In Michigan, transportation incidents resulted in 47 fatal work injuries and accounted for 34 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were up from 41 over the year.

Exposure to harmful substances or environments was the second-most fatal work-related event with 26 fatalities. Falls, slips, or trips and contact with objects or equipment each had 23 fatalities. Falls, slips, or trips increased from 22 worker deaths in the prior year and contact with objects or equipment decreased from 27 worker deaths in 2020.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in 2021, accounting for 38 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (16 percent), followed by both exposure to harmful substances or environments and violence and other injuries by persons or animals (15 percent each) and contact with objects and equipment (14 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Michigan with 29, up from 23 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents resulted in 8 of the 29 fatalities in the industry. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 18 of the 29 fatal workplace injuries in the construction industry.

The private agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry sector had 22 fatal workplace injuries, the same as in the previous year. The crop production subsector accounted for 12, or 55 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 35. (See table 3.) Motor vehicle operators accounted for 27 of the 35 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 27. Construction trades workers suffered 21 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights

Men accounted for 91 percent of the work-related fatalities in Michigan, the same as the national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 32 percent of the fatalities for men in Michigan.

White non-Hispanics accounted for 81 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 60 percent of work-related deaths.

Workers 55 years and older accounted for 41 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2021, compared to 35 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

Of the 140 fatal work injuries in Michigan, 71 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents; contact with objects and equipment was the most frequent fatal event for self-employed workers.

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 2021 national data, over 23,900 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 at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/home.htm and the CFOI definitions at www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/occupational-safety-and-health-definitions.htm.

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 www.bls.gov/iif/overview/cfoi-scope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

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 2021, there were 197 cases nationally where this occurred, and 174 of these latent cases occurred more than 30 days prior to the start of 2021. For more information on latent cases, see www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-10/latency-in-fatal-occupational-injuries.htm.

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 at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-on-workplace-injuries-and-illnesses-compensation-and-occupational-requirements.htm.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity 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. 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, Michigan, 2020–21

Event or exposure (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	131	140	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	26	17	12
Intentional injury by person	25	14	10
Animal and insect related incidents	--	3	2
Transportation incidents	41	47	34
Aircraft incidents	2	4	3
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	1	1	1
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing--into structure, object, or ground	1	1	1
Aircraft crash due to low-altitude entanglement	--	1	1
Other in-flight crash	--	2	1
Other in-flight crash into structure, object, or ground	--	2	1
Pedestrian vehicular incident	9	12	9
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in work zone	3	3	2
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in work zone	3	3	2
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	--	2	1
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in roadway	--	2	1
Pedestrian struck by vehicle on side of road	--	2	1
Pedestrian struck by vehicle propelled by another vehicle on side of road	--	1	1
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle on side of road	--	1	1
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	--	5	4
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in nonroadway area	--	1	1
Pedestrian struck by vehicle backing up in nonroadway area	--	4	3
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	25	24	17
Roadway collision with other vehicle	12	13	9
Roadway collision--moving in same direction	7	3	2
Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming	2	2	1
Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly	--	5	4
Roadway collision--moving and standing vehicle in roadway	--	3	2
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	3	6	4
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	--	6	4
Roadway noncollision incident	10	5	4
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	--	5	4
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	5	7	5
Fires and explosions	--	4	3
Falls, slips, trips	22	23	16
Falls to lower level	16	17	12
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment	--	4	3
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment more than 30 feet	--	2	1
Other fall to lower level	12	12	9
Other fall to lower level 6 to 10 feet	--	3	2
Other fall to lower level 11 to 15 feet	--	3	2
Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet	--	2	1
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	--	26	19
Exposure to electricity	--	6	4
Exposure to other harmful substances	--	18	13
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose	--	15	11
Contact with objects and equipment	27	23	16
Struck by object or equipment	20	16	11
Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport	9	8	6
Struck or run over by rolling powered vehicle	3	3	2
Struck by other falling powered vehicle	--	3	2
Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle	9	5	4
Struck by swinging or slipping object, other than handheld	--	1	1
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	5	6	4
Caught in running equipment or machinery	5	5	4
Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning	2	4	3
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation	--	1	1
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	2	1	1
Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment	--	1	1
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 final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. 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, Michigan, 2020–21

Industry (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	131	140	100
Private industry (2)	115	133	95
Goods producing	--	--	--
Natural resources and mining	23	24	17
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	22	22	16
Crop production	16	12	9
Oilseed and grain farming	4	2	1
Soybean farming	--	1	1
Corn farming	3	1	1
Other crop farming	--	3	2
Hay farming	--	3	2
Animal production and aquaculture	--	6	4
Cattle ranching and farming	--	6	4
Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots	--	2	1
Beef cattle ranching and farming	--	2	1
Dairy cattle and milk production	--	4	3
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (3)	1	2	1
Support activities for mining	--	2	1
Support activities for mining	--	2	1
Support activities for mining	--	2	1
Support activities for oil and gas operations	--	2	1
Construction	23	29	21
Construction	23	29	21
Construction of buildings	8	4	3
Residential building construction	7	3	2
Residential building construction	7	3	2
Residential remodelers	4	3	2
Nonresidential building construction	1	1	1
Heavy and civil engineering construction	7	7	5
Highway, street, and bridge construction	--	4	3
Highway, street, and bridge construction	--	4	3
Specialty trade contractors	8	18	13
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	4	11	8
Poured concrete foundation and structure contractors	--	1	1
Structural steel and precast concrete contractors	--	2	1
Roofing contractors	4	6	4
Residential roofing contractors	--	3	2
Siding contractors	--	2	1
Manufacturing	13	14	10
Manufacturing	13	14	10
Wood product manufacturing	2	1	1
Sawmills and wood preservation	--	1	1
Sawmills and wood preservation	--	1	1
Plastics and rubber products manufacturing	1	1	1
Plastics product manufacturing	--	1	1
Other plastics product manufacturing	--	1	1
Primary metal manufacturing	--	1	1
Iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing	--	1	1
Iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing	--	1	1
Machinery manufacturing	--	1	1
Metalworking machinery manufacturing	--	1	1
Metalworking machinery manufacturing	--	1	1
Special die and tool, die set, jig, and fixture manufacturing	--	1	1
Transportation equipment manufacturing	4	4	3
Service providing (4)	--	--	--
Trade, transportation, and utilities	24	--	--
Utilities	--	2	1
Utilities	--	2	1
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution	--	2	1
Electric power transmission, control, and distribution	--	2	1
Retail trade	8	5	4
Motor vehicle and parts dealers	--	1	1
Automotive parts, accessories, and tire stores	--	1	1
Automotive parts and accessories stores	--	1	1
Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers	--	1	1
Building material and supplies dealers	--	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	10	22	16
Air transportation	--	4	3
Truck transportation	7	14	10
General freight trucking	--	10	7
General freight trucking, local	--	5	4
General freight trucking, long-distance	--	4	3
Specialized freight trucking	--	4	3
Specialized freight (except used goods) trucking, local	--	4	3
Transit and ground passenger transportation	--	2	1
Taxi and limousine service	--	2	1
Professional and business services	9	17	12
Professional, scientific, and technical services	--	3	2
Professional, scientific, and technical services	--	3	2
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	9	14	10
Administrative and support services	--	12	9
Investigation and security services	--	1	1
Investigation, guard, and armored car services	--	1	1
Security guards and patrol services	--	1	1
Services to buildings and dwellings	--	11	8
Exterminating and pest control services	--	1	1
Landscaping services	--	10	7
Waste management and remediation services	--	2	1
Educational and health services	5	3	2
Health care and social assistance	3	3	2
Nursing and residential care facilities	--	2	1
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities)	--	2	1
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities)	--	2	1
Social assistance	--	1	1
Child day care services	--	1	1
Child day care services	--	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	--	--	--
Accommodation and food services	--	6	4
Other services, except public administration	10	9	6
Other services, except public administration	10	9	6
Repair and maintenance	--	5	4
Automotive repair and maintenance	--	4	3
Automotive mechanical and electrical repair and maintenance	--	4	3
General automotive repair	--	4	3
Electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance	--	1	1
Electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance	--	1	1
Government (5)	16	--	--
Federal government	3	1	1
Local government	11	4	3
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 definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts. Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts. (2) Cases where ownership is unknown are included in private industry counts. (3) Includes fatal injuries at all establishments categorized as Mining (Sector 21) in the North American Industry Classification System, including establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction. (4) Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts. (5) 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 final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. 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, Michigan, 2020–21

Occupation (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	131	140	100
Management occupations	15	17	12
Other management occupations	14	17	12
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	13	12	9
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	13	12	9
Construction managers	1	2	1
Construction managers	1	2	1
Food service managers	--	1	1
Food service managers	--	1	1
Miscellaneous managers	--	1	1
Business and financial operations occupations	--	1	1
Business operations specialists	--	1	1
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	--	1	1
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	--	1	1
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	4	3	2
Healthcare support occupations	--	--	--
Other healthcare support occupations	--	1	1
Massage therapists	--	1	1
Massage therapists	--	1	1
Protective service occupations	9	6	4
Other protective service workers	2	5	4
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	5	13	9
Grounds maintenance workers	2	7	5
Grounds maintenance workers	2	7	5
Office and administrative support occupations	3	4	3
Information and record clerks	--	3	2
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks	--	3	2
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks	--	3	2
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	8	8	6
Construction and extraction occupations	26	27	19
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	3	4	3
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	3	4	3
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	3	4	3
Construction trades workers	20	21	15
Construction laborers	8	5	4
Construction laborers	8	5	4
Construction equipment operators	1	1	1
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	1	1	1
Electricians	3	4	3
Electricians	3	4	3
Painters and paperhangers	--	1	1
Painters, construction and maintenance	--	1	1
Roofers	4	5	4
Roofers	4	5	4
Sheet metal workers	--	1	1
Sheet metal workers	--	1	1
Structural iron and steel workers	--	1	1
Structural iron and steel workers	--	1	1
Other construction and related workers	--	1	1
Highway maintenance workers	--	1	1
Highway maintenance workers	--	1	1
Extraction workers	1	1	1
Helpers--extraction workers	--	1	1
Helpers--extraction workers	--	1	1
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	12	11	8
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	7	4	3
Automotive technicians and repairers	5	4	3
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	--	4	3
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	--	7	5
Line installers and repairers	--	3	2
Electrical power-line installers and repairers	--	3	2
Production occupations	8	9	6
Supervisors of production workers	--	3	2
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	--	3	2
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	--	3	2
Other production occupations	3	3	2
Transportation and material moving occupations	24	35	25
Air transportation workers	1	4	3
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	1	4	3
Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers	1	1	1
Commercial pilots	--	3	2
Motor vehicle operators	13	27	19
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	13	25	18
Driver/sales workers	--	1	1
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	--	19	14
Light truck drivers	--	5	4
Passenger vehicle drivers	--	2	1
Taxi drivers	--	2	1
Material moving workers	10	4	3
Crane and tower operators	--	1	1
Crane and tower operators	--	1	1
Laborers and material movers	--	3	2
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 this year, see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.
NOTE: Data for all years are final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. 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, Michigan, 2020–21

Worker characteristics	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	131	140	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	97	99	71
Self-employed (2)	34	41	29
Gender
Men	125	127	91
Women	6	13	9
Age (3)
18 to 19 years	1	4	3
20 to 24 years	7	6	4
25 to 34 years	17	17	12
35 to 44 years	24	29	21
45 to 54 years	24	24	17
55 to 64 years	29	33	24
65 years and over	28	24	17
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	101	113	81
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	14	20	14
Hispanic or Latino	11	5	4
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 final. Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. For complete information on how the data are coded and presented see our definitions page at https://www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries-definitions.htm. 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.