Fatal work injuries totaled 112 in 2023 for Wisconsin, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Wisconsin was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 138 in 1993 to a low of 77 in 2008. Nationwide, a total of 5,283 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2023, a 3.7-percent decrease from 5,486 in 2022, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

  

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Chart 1. Number of fatal occupational injuries by employee status, Wisconsin, 2014–23

Year	Total	Wage and salary	Self-employed
2014	99	59	40
2015	104	65	39
2016	105	67	38
2017	106	66	40
2018	114	78	36
2019	113	77	36
2020	108	64	44
2021	105	84	21
2022	125	93	32
2023	112	76	36
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Transportation incidents (37) were the most frequent type of fatal event in Wisconsin, accounting for 33 percent of all fatal work injuries in the state. Nationally the share was 37 percent. (See chart 2 and table 1.)

• Contact incidents (23) accounted for 21 percent of Wisconsin fatal work injuries; nationally the share was 15 percent.

  

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Chart 2. Percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and Wisconsin, 2023

Event	United States	Wisconsin
Transportation incidents	37	33
Contact incidents	15	21
Exposure to harmful substances, environments	16	17
Falls, slips, trips	17	15
All other	16	14
Note: Percents may not add to total due to rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector reported 19 fatal work injuries. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents resulted in 9 of the 19 sector fatalities, followed by contact incidents with 8 fatalities. The cattle ranching and farming industry group accounted for eight of the sector’s fatal workplace injuries.

• The transportation and warehousing sector also had 19 workplace fatalities. (See table 2.) The general freight trucking industry group accounted for eight of the sector’s fatal workplace injuries.

• The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 26. (See table 3.)

• Transportation incidents resulted in 15 of the transportation and material moving fatalities.

• Motor vehicle operators accounted for 21 of the major group’s fatal workplace injuries.

• Wage and salary workers accounted for 68 percent of fatal workplace injuries in Wisconsin; the self-employed comprised the remaining 32 percent. (See chart 1 and table 4.) Nationally, wage and salary workers comprised 83 percent of fatalities.

• Males accounted for 88 percent of the work-related fatalities in Wisconsin; nationally, males comprised 91 percent of fatalities.

• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 50 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally. Workers 55 years and older accounted for 42 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2023, compared to 35 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 85 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 56 percent of work-related deaths.

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 Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene 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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