Fatal Work Injuries in Mississippi — 2023

Fatal work injuries totaled 72 in 2023 for Mississippi, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee 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 41 in 2021. 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).

Chart 1. Stacked column chart of fatal occupational injuries by employee status in Mississippi, 2014-23. Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Number of fatal occupational injuries by employee status, Mississippi, 2014–23
Year	Total	Wage and salary	Self-employed
2014	75	59	16
2015	77	67	10
2016	71	58	13
2017	90	78	12
2018	78	65	13
2019	59	53	6
2020	44	41	3
2021	41	38	3
2022	78	71	7
2023	72	55	17
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fatal event or exposure

Transportation incidents (28) were the most frequent type of fatal event in Mississippi, accounting for 39 percent of all fatal work injuries in the state. Nationally the share was 37 percent. (See chart 2 and table 1.)
Contact incidents (13) accounted for 18 percent of Mississippi workplace fatalities; nationally the share was 15 percent.

Chart 2. Clustered column chart of percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and Mississippi, 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 Mississippi, 2023
Event	United States	Mississippi
Transportation incidents	37	39
Contact incidents	15	18
Violent acts	14	15
Falls, slips, trips	17	14
All other	18	14
Note: Percents may not add to total due to rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Private industry

The transportation and warehousing sector had the highest number of fatalities with 20. (See table 2.)
Transportation incidents resulted in 17 of the 20 transportation and warehousing sector fatalities.
The general freight trucking industry group accounted for eight of the sector’s fatal workplace injuries.

Occupation

The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 28. (See table 3.)
Transportation incidents resulted in 21 of the transportation and material moving fatalities.
Motor vehicle operators accounted for 22 of the major group’s fatal workplace injuries.

Worker characteristics

Wage and salary workers accounted for 76 percent of workplace fatalities in Mississippi; the self-employed comprised the remaining 24 percent. (See chart 1 and table 4.) Nationally, wage and salary workers comprised 83 percent of fatalities.
Males accounted for 93 percent of the work-related fatalities in Mississippi, compared to 91 percent of the work-related fatalities nationally.
Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 51 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 46 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 50 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. 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 Mississippi Department of Employment Security for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries BLS 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, Mississippi, 2023
Event or Exposure (1)	Number	Percent (%)
All events and exposures	72	100
Violent acts	11	15
Homicides (violent acts by other person)	6	8
Shooting by other person	6	8
Suicides (intentional self-harm)	5	7
Transportation incidents	28	39
Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle	22	31
Roadway collision with other vehicle(s)	6	8
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	10	14
Collision with object or animal on side of roadway	7	10
Roadway noncollision incident	6	8
Explosions and fires	--	--
Falls, slips, trips	10	14
Fall to lower level	8	11
Other fall to lower level	3	4
Exposure to harmful substances, environments	--	--
Contact incidents	13	18
Struck by propelled, falling, or suspended object	7	10
Struck by falling object	6	8
Footnotes: (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, Mississippi, 2023
Industry	Number	Percentage (%)
Total	72	100
Private industry (1)	65	90
Natural resources and mining	10	14
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	10	14
Forestry and logging	4	6
Logging	4	6
Logging	4	6
Construction	10	14
Construction	10	14
Specialty trade contractors	6	8
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	4	6
Manufacturing	6	8
Manufacturing	6	8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	--	--
Retail trade	8	11
Transportation and warehousing	20	28
Truck transportation	18	25
General freight trucking	8	11
General freight trucking, long-distance	3	4
Specialized freight trucking	4	6
Information	--	--
Financial activities	--	--
Professional and business services	5	7
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	5	7
Administrative and support services	5	7
Educational and health services	--	--
Leisure and hospitality	--	--
Other services (except public administration)	--	--
Government (2)	7	10
Federal government	--	--
State government	--	--
Local government	4	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 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, Mississippi, 2023
Occupation (1)	Number	Percentage (%)
All occupations	72	100
Management occupations	--	--
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	3	4
Food preparation and serving related occupations	--	--
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	3	4
Personal care and service occupations	--	--
Sales and related occupations	7	10
Supervisors of sales workers	4	6
First-line supervisors of sales workers	4	6
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	4	6
Retail sales workers	3	4
Office and administrative support occupations	--	--
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	6	8
Construction and extraction occupations	13	18
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	3	4
Production occupations	--	--
Transportation and material moving occupations	28	39
Motor vehicle operators	22	31
Material moving workers	6	8
Footnotes: (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, Mississippi, 2023
Demographic	Number	Percentage (%)
Total	72	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (1)	55	76
Self-employed (2)	17	24
Sex
Male	67	93
Female	5	7
Age (3)
Under 16 years	--	--
16 to 17 years	--	--
18 to 19 years	--	--
20 to 24 years	--	--
25 to 34 years	13	18
35 to 44 years	12	17
45 to 54 years	12	17
55 to 64 years	26	36
65 years and over	7	10
Race or ethnic origin (4)
White, non-Hispanic	36	50
Black or African-American, non-Hispanic	27	38
Hispanic or Latino	5	7
American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic	--	--
Asian, non-Hispanic	--	--
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic	--	--
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 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: Thursday, March 20, 2025

Southeast Information Office

Fatal Work Injuries in Mississippi — 2023