According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 5,333 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2019, a 2% increase from the 5,250 in 2018. The statistics show fatal work injury rate was 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, which was the rate reported in 2018. This data is from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).
There were several other key highs in terms of demographics:
- A worker died every 99 minutes from a work-related injury in 2019.
- Fatalities among workers age 55 and over increased 8% from 1,863 in 2018 to 2,005 in 2019, which is the largest number ever recorded for this age group.
- Hispanic or Latino worker fatalities were up 13% to 1,088 in 2019–a series high since 1992.
- Workplace deaths due to suicides (307) and unintentional overdoses (313) increased slightly in 2019.
- Fatalities in the private construction industry increased 5% to 1,061–the largest total since 2007.
- Driver/sales workers and truck drivers incurred 1,005 fatal occupational injuries, the highest since this series began in 2003.
- Nearly 1 out of every 5 fatally injured workers was employed as a driver/sales worker or truck driver.
- Grounds maintenance workers had 229 fatalities in 2019–the largest number since the series began in 2003.
- Fatal occupational injuries among law enforcement workers fell 24% between 2018 and 2019 (from 127 to 97).
- Construction and extraction occupations increased by 6% in 2019 to 1,066–the highest figure since 2007.
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