News Release Information
24-84-CHI
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Fatal Work Injuries in Minnesota — 2022
Fatal work injuries totaled 81 in 2022 for Minnesota, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Minnesota was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 113 in 1993 to a low of 60 in 2011. Nationwide, a total of 5,486 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2022, a 5.7-percent increase from 5,190 in 2021, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).
Chart 1. Number of fatal occupational injuries by employee status, Minnesota, 2013–22| Year | Total | Wage and salary | Self-employed |
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2013 | 69 | 51 | 18 |
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2014 | 62 | 35 | 27 |
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2015 | 74 | 40 | 34 |
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2016 | 92 | 58 | 34 |
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2017 | 101 | 66 | 35 |
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2018 | 75 | 55 | 20 |
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2019 | 80 | 48 | 32 |
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2020 | 67 | 42 | 25 |
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2021 | 80 | 65 | 15 |
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2022 | 81 | 55 | 26 |
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In Minnesota, transportation incidents resulted in 27 fatal work injuries and accounted for a third of all fatal workplace injuries. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 33 over the year.
Falls, slips, and trips accounted for 18 fatalities, down from 19 the prior year. Contact with objects and equipment was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 16 fatalities. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in 10 work-related deaths compared to 9 in 2021.
Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event in 2022, accounting for 38 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (16 percent), followed by both violence and other injuries by persons or animals and exposure to harmful substances or environments (15 percent each).
Chart 2. Percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and Minnesota, 2022| Event | United States | Minnesota |
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Transportation incidents | 38 | 33 |
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Falls, slips, trips | 16 | 22 |
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Contact with objects and equipment | 14 | 20 |
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Exposure to harmful substances or environments | 15 | 12 |
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All other | 18 | 12 |
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The private agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Minnesota with 20, up from 11 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Contact with objects and equipment resulted in 8 of the 20 fatalities in the industry. The crop production subsector accounted for 15 of the 20 fatal workplace injuries in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry.
The private construction industry sector had 13 fatal workplace injuries, down from 18 in the previous year. The construction of buildings subsector accounted for 6, or 46 percent, of the fatal injuries in the construction industry.
The private administrative and support and waste management and remediation services industry sector had 12 fatal workplace injuries, up from 7 in the previous year. The services to buildings and dwellings industry group accounted for 10 of the fatal injuries in this industry.
OccupationThe management occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 18. (See table 3.) The construction and extraction occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 13. Construction trades workers suffered 8 of the 13 fatalities among construction and extraction workers.
Additional highlightsMen accounted for 83 percent of the work-related fatalities in Minnesota, compared to the 92-percent national share. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 28 percent of the fatalities for men in Minnesota.
White non-Hispanics accounted for 85 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 58 percent of work-related deaths.
Workers 55 years and older accounted for 56 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2022, compared to 35 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
Of the 81 fatal work injuries in Minnesota, 68 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for both wage and salary workers and self-employed 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 2022 national data, over 27,200 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 and the CFOI definitions.
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 Scope of the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: Concepts.
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 2022, there were 186 cases nationally where this occurred, and 157 of these latent cases occurred more than 30 days prior to the start of 2022. For more information on latent cases, see Understanding latency in fatal occupational injuries.
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 on the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, Compensation, Occupational Requirements, and Work Stoppages Statistics.
Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry 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, Minnesota, 2021–22| Event or exposure | 2021 | 2022 |
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| Number | Number | Percent |
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Total | 80 | 81 | 100 |
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Violence and other injuries by persons or animals | 10 | 8 | 10 |
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Intentional injury by person | -- | 7 | 9 |
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Animal and insect related incidents | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Struck by animal | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Trampled by or stepped on by animal | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Transportation incidents | 33 | 27 | 33 |
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Aircraft incidents | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Other in-flight crash | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Pedestrian vehicular incident | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle | 22 | 16 | 20 |
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Roadway collision with other vehicle | 10 | 12 | 15 |
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Roadway collision--moving in same direction | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Roadway collision--moving in opposite directions, oncoming | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Roadway collision--moving perpendicularly | -- | 6 | 7 |
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Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles | 5 | 7 | 9 |
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Nonroadway noncollision incident | 5 | 5 | 6 |
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Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway | 3 | 4 | 5 |
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Fall or jump from and struck by same vehicle in normal operation, nonroadway | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Fires and explosions | -- | 2 | 2 |
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Fires | -- | 2 | 2 |
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Falls, slips, trips | 19 | 18 | 22 |
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Falls on same level | -- | 4 | 5 |
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Falls to lower level | 15 | 14 | 17 |
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Exposure to harmful substances or environments | 9 | 10 | 12 |
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Exposure to electricity | 5 | 3 | 4 |
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Exposure to other harmful substances | -- | 4 | 5 |
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Exposure to oxygen deficiency, n.e.c. | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Contact with objects and equipment | -- | 16 | 20 |
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Struck by object or equipment | -- | 6 | 7 |
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Struck by powered vehicle--nontransport | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Struck or run over by rolling powered vehicle | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Struck by falling object or equipment--other than powered vehicle | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects | -- | 6 | 7 |
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Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material | -- | 4 | 5 |
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Excavation or trenching cave-in | -- | 2 | 2 |
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Engulfment in other collapsing material | -- | 2 | 2 |
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Overexertion and bodily reaction | -- | -- | -- |
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NOTE: 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. N.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. |
Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Minnesota, 2021–22| Industry | 2021 | 2022 |
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| Number | Number | Percent |
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Total | 80 | 81 | 100 |
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Private Industry | 75 | 76 | 94 |
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Goods producing | -- | -- | -- |
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Natural resources and mining | 11 | 20 | 25 |
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Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | 11 | 20 | 25 |
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Crop production | 5 | 15 | 19 |
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Oilseed and grain farming | -- | 6 | 7 |
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Other crop farming | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Hay farming | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Animal production and aquaculture | 4 | 5 | 6 |
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Cattle ranching and farming | -- | 2 | 3 |
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Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Beef cattle ranching and farming | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Dairy cattle and milk production | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Construction | 18 | 13 | 16 |
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Construction | 18 | 13 | 16 |
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Construction of buildings | -- | 6 | 7 |
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Manufacturing | 6 | 7 | 9 |
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Manufacturing | 6 | 7 | 9 |
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Textile product mills | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Other textile product mills | -- | 1 | 1 |
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All other textile product mills | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Chemical manufacturing | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Pesticide, fertilizer, and other agricultural chemical manufacturing | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Fertilizer manufacturing | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Furniture and related product manufacturing | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Service providing | -- | -- | -- |
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Trade, transportation, and utilities | 22 | -- | -- |
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Wholesale trade | 5 | 2 | 3 |
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Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods | -- | 2 | 3 |
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Farm product raw material merchant wholesalers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Grain and field bean merchant wholesalers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Miscellaneous nondurable goods merchant wholesalers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Farm supplies merchant wholesalers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Retail trade | 6 | 3 | 4 |
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Food and beverage stores | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Grocery stores | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Supermarkets and other grocery (except convenience) stores | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Health and personal care stores | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Health and personal care stores | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Pharmacies and drug stores | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Gasoline stations | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Gasoline stations | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Gasoline stations with convenience stores | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Transportation and warehousing | 10 | 8 | 10 |
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Truck transportation | 8 | 5 | 6 |
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Information | -- | -- | -- |
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Financial activities | -- | -- | -- |
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Professional and business services | 7 | 12 | 15 |
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Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services | 7 | 12 | 15 |
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Administrative and support services | 4 | 11 | 14 |
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Investigation and security services | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Investigation, guard, and armored car services | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Security guards and patrol services | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Services to buildings and dwellings | -- | 10 | 12 |
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Janitorial services | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Landscaping services | -- | 5 | 6 |
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Waste management and remediation services | 3 | 1 | 1 |
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Remediation and other waste management services | -- | 1 | 1 |
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All other waste management services | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Septic tank and related services | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Educational and health services | 3 | 6 | 7 |
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Educational services | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Educational services | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Elementary and secondary schools | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Elementary and secondary schools | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Health care and social assistance | 3 | 5 | 6 |
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Leisure and hospitality | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Accommodation and food services | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Accommodation | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Traveler accommodation | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Other traveler accommodation | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Bed-and-breakfast inns | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Other services, except public administration | 3 | 1 | 1 |
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Other services, except public administration | 3 | 1 | 1 |
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Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Religious organizations | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Religious organizations | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Public administration | -- | -- | -- |
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Government | 5 | 5 | 6 |
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Federal government | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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State government | 2 | -- | -- |
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Local government | 2 | 1 | 1 |
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NOTE: 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. N.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. |
Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Minnesota, 2021–22| Occupation | 2021 | 2022 |
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| Number | Number | Percent |
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Total | 80 | 81 | 100 |
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Management occupations | 5 | 18 | 22 |
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Business and financial operations occupations | -- | -- | -- |
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Computer and mathematical occupations | -- | -- | -- |
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Architecture and engineering occupations | -- | -- | -- |
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Life, physical, and social science occupations | -- | -- | -- |
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Community and social service occupations | -- | -- | -- |
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Legal occupations | -- | -- | -- |
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Educational instruction and library occupations | -- | -- | -- |
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Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations | 1 | -- | -- |
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Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations | 1 | -- | -- |
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Healthcare support occupations | 1 | -- | -- |
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Protective service occupations | -- | 2 | 2 |
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Supervisors of protective service workers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Miscellaneous first-line supervisors, protective service workers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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First-line supervisors of security workers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Food preparation and serving related occupations | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Cooks and food preparation workers | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations | 4 | 10 | 12 |
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Building cleaning and pest control workers | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Building cleaning workers | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Grounds maintenance workers | 3 | 6 | 7 |
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Grounds maintenance workers | 3 | 6 | 7 |
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Personal care and service occupations | -- | -- | -- |
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Sales and related occupations | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Supervisors of sales workers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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First-line supervisors of sales workers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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First-line supervisors of retail sales workers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Office and administrative support occupations | -- | -- | -- |
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Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations | 6 | 4 | 5 |
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Agricultural workers | -- | 4 | 5 |
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Miscellaneous agricultural workers | -- | 4 | 5 |
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Construction and extraction occupations | 17 | 13 | 16 |
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Supervisors of construction and extraction workers | -- | 4 | 5 |
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First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers | -- | 4 | 5 |
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First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers | -- | 4 | 5 |
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Construction trades workers | 11 | 8 | 10 |
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Construction laborers | -- | 4 | 5 |
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Construction laborers | -- | 4 | 5 |
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Other construction and related workers | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners | -- | 1 | 1 |
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Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations | 7 | 7 | 9 |
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Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations | 4 | 5 | 6 |
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Production occupations | 3 | 5 | 6 |
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Other production occupations | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Transportation and material moving occupations | 25 | 11 | 14 |
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Motor vehicle operators | 20 | 6 | 7 |
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Driver/sales workers and truck drivers | 19 | 6 | 7 |
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Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | 16 | 5 | 6 |
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Material moving workers | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Laborers and material movers | -- | 3 | 4 |
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Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | -- | 3 | 4 |
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NOTE: 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. N.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. |
Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, Minnesota, 2021–22| Worker characteristics | 2021 | 2022 |
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| Number | Number | Percent |
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Total | 80 | 81 | 100 |
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Employee status | |
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Wage and salary workers | 65 | 55 | 68 |
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Self-employed | 15 | 26 | 32 |
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Gender | |
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Men | 73 | 67 | 83 |
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Women | 7 | 14 | 17 |
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Age | |
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25 to 34 years | 5 | 9 | 11 |
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35 to 44 years | 20 | 13 | 16 |
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45 to 54 years | 14 | 7 | 9 |
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55 to 64 years | 23 | 23 | 28 |
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65 years and over | 9 | 22 | 27 |
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Race or ethnic origin | |
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White, non-Hispanic | 65 | 69 | 85 |
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Black or African-American, non-Hispanic | 7 | 3 | 4 |
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Hispanic or Latino | 3 | 6 | 7 |
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Asian, non-Hispanic | -- | -- | -- |
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Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | -- | -- | -- |
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NOTE: 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. N.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. |
United States Department of Labor
