Fatal work injuries totaled 315 in 2021 for Florida, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Florida was up from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 422 in 2004 to a low of 218 in 2012.

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 Florida, transportation incidents resulted in 111 fatal work injuries and accounted for 35 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were up from 90 over the year.

Falls, slips, and trips was the second-most frequent fatal work event with 69 fatalities, down from 77 in the prior year. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in 59 fatal work injuries, compared to 43 in the prior year. Contact with objects and equipment resulted in 39 work-related deaths, up from 25 in 2020.

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace 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 construction industry sector had the highest number of fatal work injuries in Florida with 76, down from 82 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, and trips resulted in 38 of the 76 fatal work injuries in the industry. The foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors industry group accounted for 30, or 39 percent, of fatal workplace injuries in the construction industry.

The private transportation and warehousing industry had 49 fatal workplace injuries. The specialized freight trucking industry group accounted for 15, or 31 percent, of the fatal injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry.

The administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector also had 49 fatal workplace injuries, up from 28 in the previous year.  

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 80. (See table 3.) Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 38 of the 80 fatal work injuries among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 69. Construction laborers and roofers each suffered 16 of the 69 work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights

Men accounted for 90 percent of the work-related fatal work injuries in Florida, similar to the national share of 91 percent. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 36 percent of the fatal work injuries for men in Florida.

White non-Hispanics accounted for 54 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 60 percent of work-related deaths.

Workers 45-64 years old accounted for 48 percent of the state’s work-related fatal work injuries in 2021, compared to 43 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally

Of the 315 fatal work injuries in Florida, 87 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents; transportation incidents and falls, slips, and trips were the most frequent fatal events for self-employed 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 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, Florida, 2020–21

Event or exposure (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	275	315	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	36	34	11
Transportation incidents	90	111	35
Aircraft incidents	3	12	4
Rail vehicle incidents	--	3	1
Pedestrian vehicular incident	21	21	7
Water vehicle incidents	4	3	1
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	54	61	19
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	8	11	3
Fires and explosions	3	3	1
Falls, slips, trips	77	69	22
Falls to lower level	60	57	18
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	43	59	19
Exposure to electricity	11	16	5
Exposure to other harmful substances	23	30	10
Contact with objects and equipment	25	39	12
Struck by object or equipment	15	28	9
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	6	7	2
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	4	3	1
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/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, Florida, 2020–21

Industry (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	275	315	100
Private industry (2)	260	284	90
Goods producing	--	--	--
Natural resources and mining	--	--	--
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	13	24	8
Construction	82	76	24
Construction	82	76	24
Heavy and civil engineering construction	21	11	3
Specialty trade contractors	50	56	18
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	24	30	10
Building equipment contractors	7	10	3
Manufacturing	10	12	4
Service providing (3)	--	--	--
Trade, transportation, and utilities	--	--	--
Wholesale trade	9	9	3
Retail trade	15	13	4
Transportation and warehousing	44	49	16
Truck transportation	28	31	10
Specialized freight trucking	10	15	5
Transit and ground passenger transportation	4	4	1
Support activities for transportation	7	5	2
Couriers and messengers	--	6	2
Financial activities	--	6	2
Professional and business services	--	53	17
Professional, scientific, and technical services	--	4	1
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	28	49	16
Educational and health services	1	3	1
Leisure and hospitality	--	--	--
Other services, except public administration	--	9	3
Government (4)	--	--	--
Federal government	--	1	0
Local government	11	4	1
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/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. (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/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, Florida, 2020–21

Occupation (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	275	315	100
Management occupations	14	6	2
Architecture and engineering occupations	--	5	2
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	--	4	1
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	4	4	1
Protective service occupations	6	19	6
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	29	44	14
Grounds maintenance workers	24	33	10
Personal care and service occupations	5	4	1
Sales and related occupations	14	7	2
Office and administrative support occupations	7	5	2
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	7	11	3
Construction and extraction occupations	67	69	22
Construction trades workers	55	57	18
Carpenters	9	8	3
Construction laborers	18	16	5
Drywall installers, ceiling tile installers, and tapers	1	2	1
Electricians	3	2	1
Painters and paperhangers	7	8	3
Roofers	11	16	5
Helpers, construction trades	3	3	1
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	25	33	10
Production occupations	8	12	4
Transportation and material moving occupations	60	80	25
Motor vehicle operators	46	58	18
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	41	54	17
Driver/sales workers	--	3	1
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	37	38	12
Light truck drivers	--	13	4
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/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 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, Florida, 2020–21

Worker characteristics	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	275	315	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	234	275	87
Self-employed (2)	41	40	13
Gender
Men	243	283	90
Women	32	32	10
Age (3)
18 to 19 years	--	3	1
20 to 24 years	16	15	5
25 to 34 years	48	55	17
35 to 44 years	55	50	16
45 to 54 years	65	74	23
55 to 64 years	60	76	24
65 years and over	28	42	13
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	151	170	54
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	33	43	14
Hispanic or Latino	82	96	30
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/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.