Fatal Work Injuries in Missouri — 2023

Fatal work injuries totaled 114 in 2023 for Missouri, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Missouri was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 185 in 2005 to a low of 88 in 2012. 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).

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Number of fatal occupational injuries by employee status, Missouri, 2014–23
Year	Total	Wage and salary	Self-employed
2014	106	72	34
2015	117	86	31
2016	124	82	42
2017	125	83	42
2018	145	95	50
2019	106	73	33
2020	105	80	25
2021	147	107	40
2022	121	98	23
2023	114	84	30
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fatal event or exposure

Transportation incidents (43) were the most frequent type of fatal event in Missouri, accounting for 38 percent of all fatal work injuries in the state. Nationally the share was 37 percent. (See chart 2 and table 1.)
Contact incidents (22) accounted for 19 percent of Missouri workplace fatalities; nationally the share was 15 percent.

Clustered column chart of percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and Missouri, 2023. 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 Missouri, 2023
Event	United States	Missouri
Transportation incidents	37	38
Contact incidents	15	19
Exposure to harmful substances, environments	16	18
Falls, slips, trips	17	13
All other	16	11
Note: Percents may not add to total due to rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Private industry

The agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector had the highest number of fatalities with 28. (See table 2.)
Contact incidents resulted in 18 of the 28 agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector fatalities.
The crop production subsector accounted for 12 of the sector’s fatal workplace injuries.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 26. (See table 3.)
Transportation incidents resulted in 20 of the transportation and material moving fatalities.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 15 of the major group’s fatal workplace injuries.

Worker characteristics

Wage and salary workers accounted for 74 percent of workplace fatalities in Missouri; the self-employed comprised the remaining 26 percent. (See chart 1 and table 4.) Nationally, wage and salary workers comprised 83 percent of fatalities. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers in Missouri was transportation incidents; contact incidents were the most frequent fatal event for self-employed workers.
Males accounted for 90 percent of the work-related fatalities in Missouri and 91 percent nationally.
Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 52 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.
White non-Hispanics accounted for 82 percent of fatal workplace injuries. Nationwide, this group accounted for 56 percent of work-related deaths.

Revision of Classification Systems

The 2022 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the updated Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) were implemented with the release of 2023 data. As a result of these changes, comparisons between 2023 CFOI data and previous years should be made with caution. Refer to the national release technical note for more information.

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 Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations 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.

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, Missouri, 2023
Event or Exposure (1)	Number	Percent (%)
All events and exposures	114	100
Violent acts	13	11
Transportation incidents	43	38
Pedestrian incidents involving motorized land vehicles	5	4
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	30	26
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)	16	14
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)-moving in same direction	4	4
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)-moving in opposite directions, oncoming	5	4
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	6	5
Collision with object or animal on side of roadway	3	3
Roadway noncollision incident	7	6
Roadway noncollision- vehicle overturn	5	4
Nonroadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles	4	4
Falls, slips, trips	15	13
Exposure to harmful substances, environments	21	18
Exposure to electricity	3	3
Direct exposure to electricity	3	3
Exposure to harmful substances	16	14
Contact incidents	22	19
Struck by propelled, falling, or suspended object	12	11
Struck, caught, or compressed by running powered equipment	6	5
(1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 3.02 implemented for 2023 data forward.
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. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Missouri, 2023
Industry	Number	Percentage (%)
Total	114	100
Private industry (1)	103	90
Natural resources and mining	--	--
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	28	25
Crop production	12	11
Animal production and aquaculture	3	3
Forestry and logging	10	9
Logging	10	9
Logging	10	9
Support activities for agriculture and forestry	3	3
Construction	16	14
Construction	16	14
Specialty trade contractors	10	9
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	6	5
Manufacturing	4	4
Manufacturing	4	4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	29	25
Wholesale trade	4	4
Retail trade	8	7
General merchandise retailers	3	3
Gasoline stations and fuel dealers	3	3
Gasoline stations	3	3
Gasoline stations with convenience stores	3	3
Transportation and warehousing	17	15
Truck transportation	12	11
Information	--	--
Financial activities	3	3
Real estate and rental and leasing	3	3
Real estate	3	3
Professional and business services	--	--
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	4	4
Educational and health services	--	--
Leisure and hospitality	5	4
Accommodation and food services	5	4
Other services (except public administration)	6	5
Other services (except public administration)	6	5
Government (2)	11	10
Federal government	--	--
State government	--	--
Local government	7	6
(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: 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, Missouri, 2023
Occupation (1)	Number	Percentage (%)
All occupations	114	100
Management occupations	18	16
Other management occupations	17	15
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	14	12
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	14	12
Sales and related occupations	8	7
Retail sales workers	6	5
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	11	10
Forest, conservation, and logging workers	10	9
Logging workers	10	9
Fallers	10	9
Construction and extraction occupations	17	15
Construction trades workers	15	13
Roofers	5	4
Roofers	5	4
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	14	12
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	8	7
Automotive technicians and repairers	6	5
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	6	5
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4	4
Production occupations	4	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	26	23
Motor vehicle operators	19	17
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	19	17
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	15	13
(1) Occupational data are based on the 2018 Standard Occupation Classification (SOC). Cases where occupation is unknown are included in the total.
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. CFOI fatal injury counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by selected demographic characteristics, Missouri, 2023
Demographic	Number	Percentage (%)
Total	114	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	84	74
Self-employed (2)	30	26
Sex
Male	103	90
Female	11	10
Age (3)
Under 16 years	--	--
16 to 17 years	--	--
18 to 19 years	3	3
20 to 24 years	10	9
25 to 34 years	25	22
35 to 44 years	15	13
45 to 54 years	19	17
55 to 64 years	21	18
65 years and over	19	17
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	94	82
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	9	8
Hispanic or Latino	--	--
American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic	--	--
Asian, non-Hispanic	--	--
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic	--	--
(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 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: Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Mountain-Plains Information Office

Fatal Work Injuries in Missouri — 2023