Fatal work injuries totaled 187 in 2021 for Georgia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Georgia was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 249 in 1994 to a low of 101 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 Georgia, transportation incidents resulted in 76 fatal work injuries and accounted for 41 percent of all fatal workplace injuries in the state. (See chart 2 and table 1.) Worker deaths from transportation incidents were down from 80 over the year.

Violence and other injuries by persons or animals was the second-most frequent fatal work event with 37 fatal work injuries, up from 23 in the prior year. Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in 31 work-related deaths, compared to 21 in 2020. 

Nationally, transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal 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 Georgia with 40, up from 37 in the previous year. (See table 2.) Transportation incidents resulted in 12 of the 40 fatal work injuries in the industry. The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 27, or 68 percent, of the fatal injuries in this industry.

The private transportation and warehousing sector had 33 fatal workplace injuries, down from 39 in the previous year. The general freight trucking industry group accounted for 12, or 36 percent, of fatal workplace injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 49. (See table 3.) Motor vehicle operators accounted for 32 of the 49 fatal work injuries among transportation and material moving workers. The construction and extraction occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal work injuries with 38. Construction laborers suffered 9 of the work-related deaths within the construction and extraction group.

Additional highlights

Men accounted for 84 percent of the work-related fatal work injuries in Georgia, compared to the national rate of 91 percent. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 43 percent of the fatal work injuries for men in Georgia.

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 25-54 years old accounted for 59 percent of the state’s work-related fatal work injuries in 2021, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatal work injuries nationally.

Of the 187 fatal work injuries in Georgia, 80 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers and 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 thanks the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner 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, Georgia, 2020–21

Event or exposure (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	193	187	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	23	37	20
Intentional injury by person	20	36	19
Intentional injury by other person	12	30	16
Transportation incidents	80	76	41
Aircraft incidents	--	8	4
Pedestrian vehicular incident	15	16	9
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	48	40	21
Roadway collision with other vehicle	24	29	16
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	--	6	3
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	7	11	6
Fires and explosions	--	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	32	22	12
Falls to lower level	28	16	9
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	21	31	17
Exposure to electricity	3	8	4
Exposure to other harmful substances	14	22	12
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol--unintentional overdose	--	15	8
Contact with objects and equipment	34	--	--
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/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, Georgia, 2020–21

Industry (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	193	187	100
Private industry (2)	175	171	91
Goods producing	--	--	--
Natural resources and mining	--	--	--
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	12	11	6
Construction	37	40	21
Construction	37	40	21
Construction of buildings	--	3	2
Heavy and civil engineering construction	--	6	3
Specialty trade contractors	17	27	14
Manufacturing	21	9	5
Service providing (3)	--	--	--
Trade, transportation, and utilities	60	--	--
Wholesale trade	7	7	4
Retail trade	14	13	7
Transportation and warehousing	39	33	18
Air transportation	--	5	3
Truck transportation	30	17	9
General freight trucking	--	12	6
Information	--	1	1
Financial activities	--	3	2
Professional and business services	24	--	--
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	21	18	10
Educational and health services	--	--	--
Health care and social assistance	4	6	3
Leisure and hospitality	--	9	5
Other services, except public administration	6	13	7
Government (4)	--	16	9
Federal government	5	--	--
State government	--	--	--
Local government	12	12	6
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, Georgia, 2020–21

Occupation (1)	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	193	187	100
Management occupations	7	14	7
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	--	4	2
Healthcare support occupations	--	--	--
Protective service occupations	--	13	7
Food preparation and serving related occupations	--	4	2
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	20	19	10
Grounds maintenance workers	12	12	6
Personal care and service occupations	--	--	--
Sales and related occupations	9	12	6
Office and administrative support occupations	--	--	--
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	9	3	2
Construction and extraction occupations	35	38	20
Construction trades workers	30	32	17
Construction laborers	12	9	5
Electricians	--	6	3
Painters and paperhangers	6	4	2
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	14	13	7
Production occupations	13	9	5
Transportation and material moving occupations	60	49	26
Air transportation workers	--	6	3
Motor vehicle operators	42	32	17
Material moving workers	15	11	6
Laborers and material movers	9	8	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, Georgia, 2020–21

Worker characteristics	2020	2021
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	193	187	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	170	150	80
Self-employed (2)	23	37	20
Gender
Men	183	157	84
Women	10	30	16
Age (3)
18 to 19 years	--	4	2
20 to 24 years	9	21	11
25 to 34 years	36	32	17
35 to 44 years	45	29	16
45 to 54 years	36	50	27
55 to 64 years	41	28	15
65 years and over	20	23	12
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	83	101	54
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	58	45	24
Hispanic or Latino	43	27	14
Asian, non-Hispanic	6	12	6
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.