25 years of Worker Injury, Illness, and Fatality Case Data : Spotlight on Statistics: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

March 2019

25 years of Worker Injury, Illness, and Fatality Case Data

Henry Reeve, Shane Stephens, Stephen Pegula, and Ryan Farrell

Since 1972, the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program has collected data on work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatal injuries. The 25 years of data now available show that workers are incurring fewer injuries and fatalities on the job, but also show that there is still work to do to make workers safer while they are on the job.

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Fatal occupational injuries, 1992–2016
Year	Fatal occupational injuries
1992	6,217
1993	6,331
1994	6,632
1995	6,275
1996	6,202
1997	6,238
1998	6,055
1999	6,054
2000	5,920
2001	5,915
2002	5,534
2003	5,575
2004	5,764
2005	5,734
2006	5,840
2007	5,657
2008	5,214
2009	4,551
2010	4,690
2011	4,693
2012	4,628
2013	4,585
2014	4,821
2015	4,836
2016	5,190

Fatal occupational injuries have decreased 17 percent since 1992

From 1992 to 2016, there were a total of 139,151 fatal occupational injuries in the United States. In 1992, there were 6,217 fatal occupational injuries. In 2016, there were 5,190. This is a decrease of approximately 17 percent over 25 years. Over this period, 1994 had the most fatal occupational injuries: 6,632. The year with the fewest fatal occupational injuries was 2009, with 4,551.

In 2016, there were approximately 14 deaths per day, which means a worker died from a fatal work injury every 102 minutes.

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Fatal injury rates (per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) by employee status, 1992–2016
Year	Overall	Wage and salary	Self-employed
1992	5.0	4.0	11.0
1993	5.0	5.0	12.0
1994	5.0	5.0	11.0
1995	5.0	4.0	11.0
1996	4.8	4.2	11.1
1997	4.7	4.1	11.6
1998	4.5	3.9	11.7
1999	4.5	3.9	11.1
2000	4.3	3.7	11.7
2001	4.3	3.8	11.3
2002	4.0	3.5	10.5
2003	4.0	3.4	11.1
2004	4.1	3.5	11.1
2005	4.0	3.5	10.7
2006	4.2	3.7	10.6
2007	4.0	3.5	11.0
2008	3.7	3.2	11.6
2009	3.5	2.8	12.7
2010	3.6	3.0	12.6
2011	3.5	2.9	13.1
2012	3.4	2.8	12.8
2013	3.3	2.8	11.8
2014	3.4	2.8	13.6
2015	3.4	2.8	13.1
2016	3.6	3.0	13.1

Self-employed workers are more likely to die from a work injury

The overall fatal injury rate was 3.6 fatalities (per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) in 2016 and 3.4 in 2015 and 2014.

In 2016, the fatal injury rate for self-employed workers, 13.1 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, was more than 4 times the rate for wage and salary workers, which was 3.0 fatalities.

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Days away from work cases and days of job transfer or restriction cases in private industry, 1992–2016
Year	Total, days away from work, restricted work activity, or job transfer	Days of job transfer or restriction	Days away from work
1992	2,953,400	622,300	2,331,100
1993	2,967,400	714,900	2,252,500
1994	3,061,000	824,400	2,236,600
1995	2,972,100	931,200	2,040,900
1996	2,832,500	951,900	1,880,600
1997	2,866,200	1,032,800	1,833,400
1998	2,780,700	1,050,200	1,730,500
1999	2,742,800	1,040,300	1,702,500
2000	2,752,100	1,088,100	1,664,000
2001	2,559,100	1,021,500	1,537,600
2002	2,494,300	1,058,200	1,436,200
2003	2,301,900	986,000	1,315,900
2004	2,225,000	965,700	1,259,300
2005	2,184,800	950,100	1,234,700
2006	2,114,600	931,100	1,183,500
2007	2,036,000	877,200	1,158,900
2008	1,900,800	822,600	1,078,100
2009	1,667,400	702,400	965,000
2010	1,598,100	664,900	933,200
2011	1,561,000	642,800	918,200
2012	1,581,800	663,000	918,700
2013	1,572,700	655,600	917,100
2014	1,580,000	663,600	916,400
2015	1,571,900	669,800	902,200
2016	1,547,800	655,600	892,300

1.5 million nonfatal injuries or illnesses caused workers to miss work or have duties changed

Nonfatal injury and illness cases that involved one or more days away from work, or a job transfer or restriction made up roughly half of all nonfatal injuries in private industry in 2016. The remaining cases were those where workers did not miss any work and were not restricted or transferred. The proportion of job transfer or restriction cases, where the worker is on restricted duty or transferred to another job as a result of the injury, has grown over the past 25 years.

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Nonfatal incidence rates (per 10,000 full-time workers) involving days away from work by ownership and selected occupations, 2016
Occupation	State government	Local government	Private industry
Registered nurses	118.7	186.1	104.2
Firefighters	421.6	381.6	92.7
Janitors and cleaners - except maids and housekeeping cleaners	462.6	424.9	178.6
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	515.9	445.7	170.0
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	418.2	113.5	277.1
Nursing assistants	627.5	421.5	321.0
Teacher assistants	220.3	176.1	148.7
Cooks - institution and cafeteria	542.5	119.7	183.5

Different nonfatal incidence rates in private and public sectors

SOII collects data from establishments in the public sector (state and local government) as well as the private sector.

There are significant differences in incidence rates between establishments in the private, state, and local government sectors. It is worth noting that the make-up of industries and occupations for government is different from the private sector and that job duties vary greatly.

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Fatal occupational injuries, select private industry and occupation, 2003–16
Industry/Occupation	Fatal occupational injuries
Construction	13,782
Construction laborers	3,327
First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	1,339
Carpenters	1,121
Roofers	991
Electricians	826
Transportation and warehousing	10,952
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	7,142
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	762
Commercial pilots	406
Light truck or delivery service drivers	368
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	324
Manufacturing	5,177
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	489
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	335
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	330
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	197
Industrial machinery mechanics	196
Crop farming	3,939
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	2,688
Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse	895
Agricultural equipment operators	87
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	69
Landscaping	2,309
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	884
Tree trimmers and pruners	884
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers	410
Oil and gas extraction industries	1,485
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	195
Roustabouts, oil and gas extraction industries	160
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	110
Rotary drill operators, oil and gas extraction industries	110
Derrick operators, oil and gas extraction industries	98

Injury, illness, and fatality data are available by industry and occupation

Looking at both occupation and industry characteristics of fatal workplace injuries provides additional insight. For example, heavy tractor-trailer truck drivers was the occupation with the most fatal occupational injuries for the private manufacturing and the oil and gas extraction industries.

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Fatal occupational injuries by age group, 1992–2016
Year	15 years and under	16–17 years	18–19 years	20–24 years	25–34 years	35–44 years	45–54 years	55–64 years	65 years and older
1992	27	41	107	544	1,556	1,538	1,167	767	467
1993	29	39	102	508	1,521	1,584	1,204	811	522
1994	25	42	114	545	1,567	1,619	1,310	866	525
1995	26	42	130	486	1,409	1,571	1,256	827	515
1996	27	43	125	444	1,362	1,586	1,242	855	504
1997	21	41	113	503	1,325	1,524	1,302	875	520
1998	33	32	137	421	1,238	1,525	1,279	836	541
1999	26	46	122	451	1,175	1,510	1,333	816	565
2000	29	44	127	446	1,163	1,473	1,313	831	488
2001	20	33	122	441	1,142	1,478	1,368	775	530
2002	16	25	92	436	1,023	1,403	1,253	784	495
2003	25	28	84	462	1,018	1,329	1,301	802	523
2004	13	25	103	421	996	1,342	1,384	907	569
2005	23	31	111	403	1,017	1,243	1,389	933	578
2006	11	21	106	390	1,041	1,288	1,417	963	599
2007	18	20	97	424	991	1,168	1,425	934	574
2008	11	23	66	353	850	1,113	1,292	920	580
2009	13	14	57	275	704	908	1,173	853	551
2010	16	18	56	245	785	868	1,169	948	582
2011	10	13	61	292	714	875	1,222	936	569
2012	19	10	59	287	736	829	1,161	936	588
2013	5	9	57	279	777	853	1,115	933	557
2014	8	14	42	292	753	860	1,161	1,007	684
2015	12	12	50	329	758	864	1,130	1,031	650
2016	13	17	43	310	834	979	1,145	1,160	688

Deaths for workers age 55 and older increased 50 percent from 1992 to 2016

Fatal occupational injuries declined for workers in the 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 age groups from 1992 to 2016. There was an increase for workers in the 55 to 64 and 65 and older age groups.

The increase in fatal occupational injuries to workers 55 and older was one of the major changes in CFOI data from 1992 to 2016. Workers 55 and older made up approximately 20 percent of injuries in 1992 and 36 percent in 2016.

Older workers face a greater risk of being killed at work than workers as a whole. In 2016, the rate of fatal injury for all workers was 3.6 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. For workers age 65 and older, that figure was 9.6.

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Nonfatal incidence rates (per 100,000 full-time workers) involving days away from work cases by age group and event or exposure, private industry, 2016
Event	16–19 years	20–24 years	25–34 years	35–44 years	45–54 years	55–64 years	65 years and older
Overall	100.5	95.8	83.8	85.0	97.2	103.9	81.7
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	4.0	5.3	4.6	3.7	3.2	3.3	2.3
Transportation incidents	2.9	4.6	4.8	4.9	5.0	4.9	5.0
Fires and explosions	-	-	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	-
Falls, slips, trips	19.0	18.1	16.4	18.7	26.7	37.0	37.3
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	10.2	6.5	4.4	3.4	3.2	3.3	1.8
Contact with objects and equipment	44.9	36.7	25.8	21.4	21.2	20.6	14.2
Overexertion and bodily reaction	19.6	24.0	27.0	32.1	37.4	34.1	20.8

Older workers have a higher rate of injuries from falls than from contact with equipment

SOII collects demographic information on workers injured or made ill while on the job. Workers age 55 to 64 had a higher risk of injury or illness than workers in other age groups, except workers age 16 to 19.

Workers in the 16 to 19 age group had a higher injury rate for contact with objects and equipment than for falls, slips, and trips. The opposite was true for workers age 65 and older. This could be the result of different types of work duties or different types of injuries incurred.

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Fatal occupational injuries to foreign- and native-born workers, 2001–16
Region	Total
Foreign-born	14,562
Africa	537
Asia	2,663
Caribbean	1,067
Central America, excluding Mexico	1,568
Europe	1,590
Mexico	6,046
North America, excluding United States	252
South America	741
Native-born	68,665

Almost 15,000 foreign-born workers died from 2001 to 2016

Foreign-born workers consistently represented 16 to 20 percent of fatal occupational injuries since birthplace data were recorded starting in 2001. From 2001 to 2016, there were 14,562 fatal occupational injuries to foreign born workers and 68,665 fatal occupational injuries to native born workers.

Mexico was the most common birthplace among fatally injured foreign-born workers from 2001 to 2016 with 6,046. The next most frequent countries of birth were Guatemala (545), El Salvador (533), and India (533). Data on race and Hispanic and Latino origin are also available from CFOI.

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Fatal occupational Injuries by state, 1992–2016
State	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Alabama	145	138	153	150	155	139	135	123	103
Alaska	91	66	60	78	63	51	43	42	53
Arizona	67	55	79	86	77	61	74	70	118
Arkansas	82	71	85	92	88	102	86	76	106
California	644	657	639	646	641	651	626	602	553
Colorado	103	99	120	112	90	120	77	106	117
Connecticut	42	31	35	32	35	32	57	38	55
Delaware	11	13	15	12	18	17	11	14	13
District of Columbia	8	25	21	16	19	23	13	14	13
Florida	329	345	358	391	333	366	384	345	329
Georgia	204	230	249	237	213	242	202	229	195
Hawaii	28	26	21	24	27	19	12	32	20
Idaho	45	43	50	53	62	56	51	43	35
Illinois	250	252	247	250	262	240	216	208	206
Indiana	148	136	195	156	143	190	155	171	159
Iowa	110	88	74	54	70	80	68	80	71
Kansas	82	99	106	95	85	93	98	87	85
Kentucky	117	143	158	140	141	143	117	120	132
Louisiana	153	171	187	139	134	137	159	141	143
Maine	19	20	22	18	23	19	26	32	26
Maryland	103	82	80	86	82	82	78	82	84
Massachusetts	67	85	74	66	62	69	44	83	70
Michigan	143	160	180	149	155	174	179	182	156
Minnesota	103	113	82	84	92	72	88	72	68
Mississippi	123	121	126	128	103	104	113	128	125
Missouri	140	131	155	125	140	123	145	165	148
Montana	65	38	50	34	50	56	58	49	42
Nebraska	43	78	83	54	56	46	56	66	59
Nevada	49	38	41	51	52	55	60	58	51
New Hampshire	10	13	14	12	11	23	23	14	13
New Jersey	138	145	114	118	100	101	103	104	115
New Mexico	35	55	54	58	60	50	48	39	35
New York	314	345	364	302	317	264	243	241	233
North Carolina	169	214	226	187	191	210	228	222	234
North Dakota	20	30	21	28	23	35	24	22	34
Ohio	203	190	209	186	201	201	186	222	207
Oklahoma	78	86	97	200	87	104	75	99	82
Oregon	88	84	80	73	85	84	72	69	52
Pennsylvania	242	241	354	233	282	259	235	221	199
Rhode Island	17	16	12	11	6	11	12	11	7
South Carolina	100	87	83	115	109	131	111	139	115
South Dakota	28	28	31	26	32	23	28	46	35
Tennessee	145	154	170	179	152	168	150	154	160
Texas	536	529	497	475	514	459	523	468	572
Utah	59	66	66	51	64	66	67	54	61
Vermont	11	7	8	16	7	9	16	14	15
Virginia	175	135	164	132	153	166	177	154	148
Washington	97	112	118	109	128	112	113	88	75
West Virginia	77	66	61	56	66	53	57	57	46
Wisconsin	135	138	109	117	108	114	97	105	107
Wyoming	26	36	35	32	28	29	33	32	36

Fatal occupational Injuries by state, 1992–2016 (continued)
State	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Alabama	138	102	124	133	128	100	108	107
Alaska	64	42	28	42	29	45	30	33
Arizona	87	101	80	84	99	112	97	100
Arkansas	68	80	87	70	80	78	89	85
California	515	478	459	467	465	537	461	465
Colorado	139	123	102	117	125	137	126	105
Connecticut	41	39	36	54	46	38	38	28
Delaware	10	11	9	10	11	15	10	11
District of Columbia	11	8	19	11	12	7	13	9
Florida	368	354	347	422	406	360	363	291
Georgia	237	197	199	232	200	201	193	182
Hawaii	41	24	21	25	15	30	23	19
Idaho	45	39	43	38	35	38	31	36
Illinois	231	190	200	208	194	207	185	193
Indiana	152	136	132	153	157	148	127	143
Iowa	62	57	76	82	90	71	89	93
Kansas	94	89	78	80	81	85	101	73
Kentucky	105	146	145	143	122	147	112	106
Louisiana	117	103	95	121	111	118	139	135
Maine	23	30	23	16	15	20	21	24
Maryland	64	102	92	81	95	106	82	60
Massachusetts	54	46	78	72	75	66	75	68
Michigan	175	152	152	127	110	157	120	123
Minnesota	76	81	72	80	87	78	72	65
Mississippi	111	94	102	88	112	96	93	80
Missouri	145	175	154	165	185	167	156	148
Montana	58	51	39	39	50	45	54	40
Nebraska	57	83	51	46	36	57	63	53
Nevada	40	47	52	61	57	49	71	41
New Hampshire	9	19	19	15	18	13	14	7
New Jersey	129	129	104	129	112	88	106	92
New Mexico	59	63	46	57	44	59	52	31
New York	220	240	227	254	239	234	220	213
North Carolina	203	169	182	183	165	168	167	161
North Dakota	25	25	26	24	22	31	25	28
Ohio	209	202	206	202	168	193	165	168
Oklahoma	115	92	100	91	95	91	104	102
Oregon	44	63	75	60	65	87	69	55
Pennsylvania	225	188	208	230	224	240	220	241
Rhode Island	17	8	18	7	6	10	5	6
South Carolina	91	107	115	113	132	95	122	87
South Dakota	35	36	28	24	31	37	22	30
Tennessee	136	140	137	145	139	153	154	135
Texas	536	417	491	440	495	489	528	463
Utah	65	52	54	50	54	60	78	64
Vermont	6	11	14	7	7	14	10	10
Virginia	146	142	155	171	186	165	146	156
Washington	102	86	83	98	85	87	90	84
West Virginia	63	40	51	58	46	79	61	53
Wisconsin	110	91	103	94	125	91	104	77
Wyoming	40	33	37	43	46	36	48	33

Fatal occupational Injuries by state, 1992–2016 (continued)
State	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Alabama	75	92	75	84	78	75	70	100
Alaska	17	39	39	31	32	30	14	35
Arizona	76	77	69	60	95	88	69	77
Arkansas	75	88	93	63	63	67	74	68
California	409	326	390	375	396	344	388	376
Colorado	83	85	92	82	65	84	75	81
Connecticut	34	49	37	36	29	35	44	28
Delaware	7	8	10	14	11	12	8	12
District of Columbia	11	16	9	11	25	11	8	5
Florida	245	225	226	218	239	228	272	309
Georgia	110	108	111	101	117	152	180	171
Hawaii	13	19	26	20	11	31	18	29
Idaho	27	33	37	19	30	34	36	30
Illinois	158	206	177	146	176	164	172	171
Indiana	125	118	125	115	127	130	115	137
Iowa	80	77	93	97	72	91	60	76
Kansas	76	85	78	76	55	73	60	74
Kentucky	101	69	93	91	86	82	99	92
Louisiana	140	111	111	116	114	120	112	95
Maine	16	20	26	19	19	19	15	18
Maryland	65	71	71	72	79	74	69	92
Massachusetts	64	54	68	44	57	55	69	109
Michigan	94	146	141	137	135	143	134	162
Minnesota	61	70	60	70	69	62	74	92
Mississippi	67	68	63	63	68	75	77	71
Missouri	142	106	132	88	118	106	117	124
Montana	52	36	49	34	28	28	36	38
Nebraska	57	54	39	48	39	55	50	60
Nevada	24	38	38	42	42	40	44	54
New Hampshire	6	6	9	14	14	17	18	22
New Jersey	99	81	99	92	102	87	97	101
New Mexico	42	38	52	39	54	53	35	41
New York	185	182	206	202	178	241	236	272
North Carolina	129	139	148	146	109	137	150	174
North Dakota	25	30	44	65	56	38	47	28
Ohio	137	161	155	161	149	185	202	164
Oklahoma	82	94	86	97	92	98	91	92
Oregon	66	47	58	43	49	69	44	72
Pennsylvania	168	221	186	194	183	179	173	163
Rhode Island	7	9	7	8	10	10	6	9
South Carolina	73	69	81	63	75	64	117	96
South Dakota	24	36	31	31	20	29	21	31
Tennessee	111	138	120	101	95	127	112	122
Texas	482	461	433	536	508	531	527	545
Utah	48	41	39	39	37	54	42	44
Vermont	12	12	8	11	7	10	9	10
Virginia	119	107	127	149	128	116	106	153
Washington	76	104	60	67	56	88	70	78
West Virginia	41	95	43	49	61	38	35	47
Wisconsin	94	91	89	114	97	99	104	105
Wyoming	19	33	32	35	26	37	34	34

Fatal occupational injury data are available for more than 100 geographic areas

Fatal occupational injury data are available for the United States as a whole, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, New York City, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. Data are also available for over 50 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). These data are available at www.bls.gov/iif/.

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Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, 2011–16
Event	Fatal occupational injuries
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	4,701
Homicides	2,673
Shooting by other person—intentional	2,123
Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing	221
Hitting, kicking, beating, shoving	166
Strangulation by other person	31
Suicides	1,581
Shooting—intentional self-harm	743
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation—intentional self-harm	547
Jumping from building or other structure intentional—self-harm	95
Inhalation of substance—intentional self-harm	60
Animal and insect related incidents	229
Bites and stings	79
Struck by animal	142
Transportation incidents	11,846
Aircraft incidents	812
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	288
Other in-flight crash	413
Parachuting incident	45
Rail vehicle incidents	286
Rail vehicle collision	216
Derailment	8
Pedestrian struck by rail vehicle—transportation incident	48
Pedestrian vehicular incident	1,852
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in work zone	331
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	460
Pedestrian struck by vehicle on side of road	322
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area	666
Water vehicle incident	342
Water vehicle collision	34
Capsized or sinking water vehicle	93
Fall or jump from water vehicle	118
Machinery or equipment incident on water vehicle	32
Fall on water vehicle	26
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	7,028
Roadway collision with other vehicle	3,553
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	2,002
Roadway noncollision incident	1,456
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	1,428
Nonroadway collision with other vehicle	70
Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle	259
Nonroadway noncollision incident	1,080
Fire or explosion	761
Fire	309
Collapsing building, structure, or structural element during fire	30
Other structural fire without collapse	86
Vehicle or machinery fire	28
Forest or brush fire	45
Ignition of vapors, gases, or liquids	76
Explosion	451
Dust explosion	17
Explosion of nonpressurized vapors, gases, or liquids	148
Explosion of pressure vessel, piping, or tire	200
Demolition or blasting explosion	6
Fall, slip, trip	4,576
Fall on same level	738
Fall on same level due to tripping	137
Fall on same level due to slipping	147
Fall while sitting	19
Fall to lower level	3,723
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment	282
Fall through surface or existing opening	456
Other fall to lower level	2,924
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	2,426
Exposure to electricity	913
Direct exposure to electricity	512
Indirect exposure to electricity	383
Exposure to temperature extremes	256
Exposure to environmental heat	220
Exposure to environmental cold	14
Contact with hot objects or substances	22
Exposure to other harmful substances	1,043
Nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol unintentional overdose	716
Inhalation of harmful substance	279
Exposure to oxygen deficiency	207
Drowning, submersion, n.e.c.	124
Choking on object or substance	49
Depletion of oxygen	33
Contact with objects and equipment	4,352
Struck by object or equipment	3,079
Struck by powered vehicle nontransport	1,244
Struck by rolling object or equipment other than powered vehicle	68
Struck by falling object or equipment	1,450
Struck by discharged or flying object	138
Struck by swinging or slipping object, other than handheld	96
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects	748
Caught in running equipment or machinery	598
Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment	45
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	481
Excavation or trenching cave-in	130
Landslide	27
Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment	198
Engulfment in other collapsing material	88

Roadway incidents were the leading cause of workplace death from 2011 to 2016

Transportation incidents were the most common fatal workplace injury event from 2011 to 2016. Violent events were the second most common event type, followed by falls, slips, and trips.

Both the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) and Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) use the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) to code the type of event leading to an injury, illness, or fatality. OIICS has many different levels of detail. For example, vehicle collisions are the most common type of roadway incidents. Homicides are the most common type of violent event with the vast majority coming from shootings.

View Chart Data

Nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work by part of body and nature of injury or illness, 2016
Part of body affected/Nature of the injury or illness	Injuries and illnesses
Eye(s)	22,030
Swelling - inflammation - irritation--nonspecified injury	8,080
Abrasions - scratches	3,720
Open wounds	2,960
Soreness - pain - hurt--nonspecified injury	2,230
Burns and corrosions	2,090
Back - including spine - spinal cord	154,180
Strains	90,120
Soreness - pain- hurt--nonspecified injury	32,300
Sprains	11,530
Bruises - contusions	3,920
Fractures	2,320
Shoulder(s) - including clavicle(s) - scapula€	70,240
Strains	24,300
Soreness - pain - hurt--nonspecified injury	13,630
Major tears to muscles - tendons - ligaments	10,940
Sprains	6,110
Fractures	2,920
Hand(s)	118,400
Cuts - lacerations	49,160
Fractures	13,800
Bruises - contusions	7,530
Soreness - pain - hurt--nonspecified injury	7,180
Crushing injuries	7,100
Knee(s)	74,240
Sprains - strains - tears	33,100
Soreness - pain- hurt--nonspecified injury	13,410
Bruises - contusions	9,670
Meniscus tears	6,190
Fractures	3,130

The back was the most frequently injured body part in 2016

SOII collects data on the nature of injury and the part of body affected for cases involving days away from work.

In 2016, 17 percent of the cases involving days away from work were to the back and 13 percent of cases were to the hand (including injuries to fingers). There were 317,530 cases involving sprains and strains, (36 percent) in 2016. Sprains and strains are the most prevalent type of injury to the back, shoulder, and knee. Of the cases involving the eyes, 37 percent involved swelling, inflammation and/or irritation.

View Chart Data

Nonfatal days away from work cases by event or exposure, 1992–2016
Year	Total	Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	Transportation incidents	Fires and explosions	Falls, slips, trips	Exposure to harmful substances or environments	Contact with objects and equipment	Overexertion and bodily reaction
1992	2,331,098	29,053	68,332	4,902	374,831	112,540	638,365	1,032,385
1993	2,252,591	26,906	71,336	4,794	370,112	111,524	614,630	1,008,618
1994	2,236,639	26,521	79,805	5,048	393,308	110,943	607,073	974,251
1995	2,040,929	29,024	73,841	4,250	343,929	103,541	562,187	884,939
1996	1,880,525	24,241	77,617	4,146	330,913	87,164	492,939	823,708
1997	1,833,380	27,060	74,134	3,716	313,395	83,449	494,467	801,245
1998	1,730,534	22,382	69,660	4,152	292,090	80,651	476,846	754,590
1999	1,702,470	23,225	73,246	3,486	297,499	76,223	459,606	740,753
2000	1,664,018	23,506	73,014	3,656	303,817	69,059	443,614	727,773
2001	1,537,567	23,694	66,803	3,711	288,500	68,269	400,033	668,084
2002	1,436,194	23,903	62,956	2,695	272,988	60,044	380,517	618,215
2003	1,315,920	22,490	57,670	2,330	266,100	55,780	341,750	553,920
2004	1,259,320	24,880	62,860	2,420	255,600	52,830	335,160	511,750
2005	1,234,680	21,470	61,170	2,600	255,750	51,860	338,080	489,790
2006	1,183,500	22,430	56,170	2,270	234,450	56,510	335,460	461,530
2007	1,158,870	24,230	53,320	1,870	253,440	52,950	317,550	440,810
2008	1,078,140	22,690	48,610	2,320	234,840	45,480	291,880	415,690
2009	964,990	22,720	42,180	1,920	212,760	42,870	254,680	375,900
2010	933,200	23,410	38,330	1,510	208,470	42,780	241,160	368,240
2011	918,140	33,750	41,140	1,680	229,630	39,460	232,180	331,880
2012	918,720	36,640	42,610	1,840	223,700	39,800	230,980	333,420
2013	917,090	38,500	44,410	1,470	229,190	40,100	232,570	322,310
2014	916,440	37,750	47,320	1,320	247,120	37,150	224,840	312,200
2015	902,160	38,440	46,360	1,270	238,610	40,250	232,120	300,600
2016	892,270	37,090	46,680	1,420	229,240	38,490	232,940	300,420

Overexertion and contact with objects or equipment were the most common nonfatal events

The most frequent events among nonfatal injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work are overexertion and contact with objects or equipment. Injuries and illnesses resulting from overexertion and bodily reaction had significant declines from 1992 to 2016, dropping from over 1 million cases in 1992 to 300,000 in 2016. The same can be said for contact with objects or equipment, dropping from 638,000 cases in 1992 to 233,000 in 2016.

View Chart Data

Incidence rates (per 10,000 full-time workers) of days away from work cases involving musculoskeletal disorders, private industry, 2003–16
Industry	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Construction	62.1	62.0	54.7	49.5	41.4	41.1	38.4	38.1	40.1	43.3	41.9	32.7	34.6	32.7
Manufacturing	57.7	55.2	48.6	45.5	41.1	38.0	32.7	35.8	38.3	37.0	36.1	36.3	33.4	32.9
Natural resources and mining	41.9	44.2	34.6	29.0	29.5	28.7	27.6	29.4	31.1	32.4	32.8	29.1	26.9	26.9
Education and health services	70.2	63.1	58.9	55.0	50.6	48.4	47.1	48.8	50.9	49.3	45.8	42.9	39.3	39.2
Financial activities	18.7	15.0	13.6	10.6	11.7	12.9	10.4	11.3	13.0	13.3	13.9	11.0	11.7	11.1
Information	23.5	24.1	20.3	19.2	18.2	18.6	15.9	22.4	20.2	23.4	23.0	19.9	21.3	18.8
Leisure and hospitality	31.0	23.3	21.0	22.5	19.8	19.7	20.8	22.3	23.8	24.0	25.2	22.5	20.3	20.0
Other services, except public administration	31.2	29.7	25.7	26.6	21.9	27.8	20.5	24.0	29.5	26.5	24.7	25.3	22.0	24.0
Professional and business services	24.7	19.0	19.1	16.5	16.8	13.9	13.1	13.4	16.3	15.0	13.3	14.9	11.3	11.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	66.0	60.9	56.8	54.1	50.1	45.8	44.3	45.1	49.1	49.9	47.2	46.0	44.5	44.0

Musculoskeletal disorders account for 32 percent of private sector days away from work cases

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) include cases that comprise particular natures of injury (such as sprains and strains or carpal syndrome) and events or exposures comprising of repetitive motion or exertion. The full description of nature of injury and event or exposure categories that are used to determine musculoskeletal disorder cases can be found at Occupational Safety and Health Definitions.

The rate of MSDs declined from a rate of 49.6 per 10,000 full-time workers in 2003 to a low of 29.4 in 2016. Still, MSDs account for 32 percent of all cases requiring days away from work in the private sector in 2016. The education and health services and trade, transportation and utilities sectors had high rates over this time period, 70.2 and 60.0 respectively in 2003, and rates of 39.2 and 44.0, respectively in 2016.

For more information

Henry Reeve is an economist in the Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Email: reeve.henry@bls.gov. Shane Stephens is an economist in the Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Email: stephens.shane@bls.gov. Stephen Pegula is an economist in the Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Email: pegula.stephen@bls.gov. Ryan Farrell was formerly an economist in the Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Data in this Spotlight come from the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program, which provides information on work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatal injuries. This information is collected and published through the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries is a federal-state cooperative program that has been implemented in all 50 States and the District of Columbia since 1992. Information about each fatal workplace injury is obtained by cross-referencing source records, such as death certificates, workers' compensation reports, and Federal and State agency administrative reports. Additional background information can be found in the CFOI section of the "BLS Handbook of Methods."

The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses uses employer-reported survey data to estimate rates and counts of nonfatal injuries and illnesses among U.S. workplaces. Business establishments have been providing occupational injury and illness data to SOII since 1972. Additional background can be found in the SOII section of the "Handbook of Methods."

Note: Starting with 2006 data, CFOI implemented a new methodology for fatal work injury rate calculations that used hours worked for fatal work injury rate calculations rather than employment. The change to hours-based rates provides a more accurate indication of worker exposure. For additional information on the fatal work injury rate methodology, please see www.bls.gov/iif/oshnotice10.htm.

Note that the Fatal Work Injury Rate = (Fatal work injuries / Total hours worked by all workers) × 200,000,000 where 200,000,000 = base for 100,000 full-time equivalent workers (FTEs) working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year. The total hours worked are annual average estimates from the Current Population Survey.

See the Employed persons in agriculture and nonagricultural industries by age, sex, and class of worker and Employed persons by detailed industry and age tables for more data on how employment by age has changed.