Fatal work injuries totaled 20 in 2021 for South Dakota, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the number of work-related fatalities in South Dakota was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 46 in 1999 to a low of 20, occurring in 2013, 2019, and 2021.

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 South Dakota, transportation incidents resulted in nine fatal work injuries, and falls, slips, or trips accounted for five fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 70 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 18 over the year, and worker fatalities due to falls, slips, or trips were down from 6.

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 agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in South Dakota with 8, down from 13 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents resulted in 4 of the 8 fatalities in the industry. The oilseed and grain farming industry group accounted for 5 of the 8 fatal workplace injuries in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry.

The private construction industry sector had three fatal workplace injuries, down from eight in the previous year. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for all three of the fatal injuries in this industry.

Occupation

The management occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with eight. (See table 3.) Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers accounted for 7 of the 8 fatalities among management workers. The transportation and material moving occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with six. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers suffered four of the work-related deaths within the transportation and material moving group.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 85 percent of the work-related fatalities in South Dakota, compared to the national share of 91 percent. (See table 4.) Falls, slips, or trips made up 29 percent of the fatalities for men in South Dakota.
• White non-Hispanics accounted for all of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 60 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 45 years and older accounted for 75 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2021, compared to 56 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
• Of the 20 fatal work injuries in South Dakota, 55 percent were self-employed; the remainder worked for wages and salaries. The most frequent fatal event for both self-employed workers and wage and salary workers was transportation incidents.

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 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, South Dakota, 2020–21

Event or exposure (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	32	20	100
Transportation incidents	18	9	45
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	7	6	30
Roadway collision with other vehicle	--	3	15
Roadway noncollision incident	--	3	15
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	--	3	15
Falls, slips, trips	6	5	25
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, South Dakota, 2020–21

Industry (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	32	20	100
Private industry (2)	30	19	95
Goods producing	--	--	--
Natural resources and mining	13	8	40
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	13	8	40
Crop production	--	5	25
Oilseed and grain farming	--	5	25
Other grain farming	--	2	10
Construction	8	3	15
Construction	8	3	15
Specialty trade contractors	--	3	15
Service providing (3)	--	--	--
Professional and business services	1	1	5
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	1	1	5
Administrative and support services	1	1	5
Services to buildings and dwellings	1	1	5
Landscaping services	--	1	5
Leisure and hospitality	--	1	5
Accommodation and food services	--	1	5
Food services and drinking places	--	1	5
Restaurants and other eating places	--	1	5
Restaurants and other eating places	--	1	5
Limited-service restaurants	--	1	5
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) Cases where industry is unknown are included in the service sector counts.
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, South Dakota, 2020–21

Occupation (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	32	20	100
Management occupations	12	8	40
Other management occupations	--	8	40
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	--	7	35
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	--	7	35
Construction managers	--	1	5
Construction managers	--	1	5
Office and administrative support occupations	--	--	--
Financial clerks	--	1	5
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	3	1	5
Agricultural workers	3	1	5
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	3	1	5
Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse	3	1	5
Transportation and material moving occupations	5	6	30
Motor vehicle operators	--	4	20
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	--	4	20
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, South Dakota, 2020–21

Worker characteristics	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	32	20	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	20	9	45
Self-employed (2)	12	11	55
Gender
Men	27	17	85
Women	5	3	15
Age (3)
45 to 54 years	8	4	20
55 to 64 years	5	5	25
65 years and over	9	6	30
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	29	20	100
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	--	--	--
Hispanic or Latino	--	--	--
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.