Fatal work injuries totaled 44 in 2020 for Mississippi, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Mississippi was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 128 in 1995 and 1999 to a low of 44 in 2020.

Nationwide, a total of 4,764 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2020, an 11-percent decrease from 5,333 in 2020, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). The 4,764 fatal occupational injuries in 2020 represents the lowest annual number since 2013. 

Fatal event or exposure

In Mississippi, transportation incidents resulted in 20 fatal work injuries and contact with objects or equipment accounted for 10 fatalities. These two major categories accounted for 68 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 30 over the year, while worker fatalities due to contact with objects or equipment were up from 8.

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the third-most frequent fatal work event with 6 fatalities, down from 10 in the prior year. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in four work-related deaths, compared to three last year.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2020, accounting for 37 percent of fatal work injuries. Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most common fatal event (17 percent).

Industry

The private construction industry sector and the private transportation and warehousing industry sector had the highest number of fatalities in Mississippi with eight each. (See table 2.) The heavy and civil engineering construction subsector accounted for four of the fatal injuries in the construction industry. Transportation incidents accounted for all eight of the fatal workplace injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry. The truck transportation subsector accounted for 5 of the 8 fatal injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 13. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 7 of the 13 fatalities among transportation and material moving workers. The installation, maintenance, and repair occupational group had the second highest number of fatalities with eight, followed by construction and extraction occupations with six.

Additional highlights

• Men accounted for 91 percent of the work-related fatalities in Mississippi, similar to the national share. (See table 4.) Contact with objects and equipment made up 25 percent of the fatalities for men in Mississippi.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 59 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 61 percent of work-related deaths.

• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 57 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2020, similar to the national share.

• Of the 44 fatal work injuries in Mississippi, 93 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. Contact with objects or equipment accounted for 10, or 24 percent, of the work-related fatalities for wage and salary 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 fatal work 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 2020 national data, over 21,600 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/oshcfdef.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/cfoiscope.htm and www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Mississippi Department of Employment Security 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, Mississippi, 2019–20

Event or exposure (1)	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	59	44	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	10	6	14
Intentional injury by person	9	6	14
Transportation incidents	30	20	45
Aircraft incidents	--	1	2
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	--	1	2
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing--into structure, object, or ground	--	1	2
Pedestrian vehicular incident	3	5	11
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	27	10	23
Fires and explosions	--	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	6	--	--
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	3	4	9
Contact with objects and equipment	8	10	23
Struck by object or equipment	6	6	14
Overexertion and bodily reaction	--	--	--
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 www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.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, Mississippi, 2019–20

Industry (1)	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	59	44	100
Private industry (2)	52	39	89
Goods producing	--	--	--
Natural resources and mining	--	--	--
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	--	5	11
Construction	7	8	18
Construction	7	8	18
Construction of buildings	--	1	2
Heavy and civil engineering construction	--	4	9
Specialty trade contractors	--	3	7
Manufacturing	--	4	9
Service providing (3)	--	--	--
Trade, transportation, and utilities	20	--	--
Transportation and warehousing	12	8	18
Truck transportation	10	5	11
Support activities for transportation	--	1	2
Educational and health services	3	1	2
Health care and social assistance	3	1	2
Leisure and hospitality	--	3	7
Accommodation and food services	--	3	7
Food services and drinking places	--	3	7
Other services, except public administration	4	5	11
Other services, except public administration	4	5	11
Repair and maintenance	4	5	11
Government (4)	7	--	--
Federal government	--	--	--
State government	3	--	--
Local government	4	3	7
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 www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.htm. (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. (4) 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 www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.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, Mississippi, 2019–20

Occupation (1)	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	59	44	100
Management occupations	--	1	2
Business and financial operations occupations	--	--	--
Computer and mathematical occupations	--	--	--
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	--	--
Life, physical, and social science occupations	--	--	--
Community and social service occupations	--	--	--
Legal occupations	--	--	--
Educational instruction and library occupations	--	--	--
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	--	--
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	--	--	--
Healthcare support occupations	--	--	--
Protective service occupations	4	--	--
Food preparation and serving related occupations	--	--	--
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	9	--	--
Personal care and service occupations	--	--	--
Sales and related occupations	6	--	--
Office and administrative support occupations	--	--	--
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	--	5	11
Construction and extraction occupations	7	6	14
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	11	8	18
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	5	5	11
Production occupations	3	--	--
Transportation and material moving occupations	14	13	30
Motor vehicle operators	12	10	23
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	12	10	23
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	10	7	16
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 www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.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 www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.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, Mississippi, 2019–20

Worker characteristics	2019	2020
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	59	44	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	53	41	93
Self-employed (2)	6	3	7
Gender
Men	53	40	91
Women	6	4	9
Age (3)
25 to 34 years	13	6	14
35 to 44 years	11	7	16
45 to 54 years	12	12	27
55 to 64 years	14	11	25
65 years and over	5	5	11
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	31	26	59
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	17	14	32
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 www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfdef.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.