The chilling reality is that every single day, workplace injuries and fatalities create a wave of global tragedy, a fact underscored by the staggering statistic that 340 million workers suffer occupational accidents annually.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, the United States recorded 5,486 fatal workplace injuries, a 5.7% increase from 2021
- Globally, 340 million workers suffer from occupational accidents annually leading to fatalities
- In 2021, construction sector in US had 1,056 fatal injuries, accounting for 20.7% of all workplace deaths
- US total recordable cases of nonfatal injuries and illnesses averaged 2.7 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2022
- Manufacturing sector reported 2.9 cases per 100 workers for nonfatal injuries in 2022 US
- Construction had 2.3 nonfatal injury cases per 100 workers in 2022 US
- Construction sector US had 21.5% of all nonfatal cases in 2022
- Manufacturing accounted for 15.4% of nonfatal injuries US 2022
- Trade, transportation, utilities 14.8% of cases US 2022
- Falls to lower level caused 33% of construction fatalities US 2022
- Struck by object/equipment 16% of construction deaths US 2022
- Transportation incidents 37% of private industry fatalities US 2022
- US men 92% of fatal injuries 2022
- Women 37% of nonfatal cases US private industry 2022
- Age 45-54 highest nonfatal rate 2.1 per 100 US 2022
Workplace injuries cause devastating global fatalities and millions of painful nonfatal incidents annually.
By Industry
- Construction sector US had 21.5% of all nonfatal cases in 2022
- Manufacturing accounted for 15.4% of nonfatal injuries US 2022
- Trade, transportation, utilities 14.8% of cases US 2022
- Healthcare/social assistance 13.9% US nonfatal 2022
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting 4.1% US 2022
- Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction 0.7% US nonfatal cases 2022
- Construction fatal rate 13.1 per 100k, highest among major industries US 2022
- Agriculture rate 20.4 per 100k US 2022 fatalities
- Mining 11.3 per 100k US 2022
- Manufacturing 3.2 per 100k fatal rate US 2022
- Healthcare 0.8 per 100k US fatalities 2022
- Retail trade 3.8 per 100k US 2022
- Construction nonfatal rate 2.3 per 100 workers highest US 2022
- Nursing/residential care 5.6 per 100 highest nonfatal US 2022
- Hospitality 3.4 per 100 US nonfatal 2022
- Transportation/warehousing 3.3 per 100 US 2022
- Mining/quarrying 2.0 per 100 nonfatal US 2022
- Agriculture 1.8 per 100 US nonfatal 2022
- Globally, construction 30% of fatal injuries
- Agriculture 27% global fatalities ILO
- Manufacturing 12% global work deaths
- Transport 16% global fatal injuries
- EU construction 25.1% of fatal accidents 2021
By Industry Interpretation
While construction and agriculture claim the grim trophies for workplace fatalities, it’s a brutal reminder that danger wears many hats: from the hospital bedpan to the warehouse forklift, the modern world is built on a foundation of bumps, bruises, and far worse.
Causes
- Falls to lower level caused 33% of construction fatalities US 2022
- Struck by object/equipment 16% of construction deaths US 2022
- Transportation incidents 37% of private industry fatalities US 2022
- Overexertion 31.9% of nonfatal nursing care cases US 2022
- Falls on same level 17.1% of nursing cases US 2022
- Exposure to harmful substances/bodily fluids 14.2% healthcare US 2022
- Violence 70% of healthcare fatalities US 2022
- Slips/trips 25% of retail nonfatal injuries US 2022
- Overexertion 28% manufacturing nonfatal US 2022
- Contact with objects/equipment 24% manufacturing US 2022
- Machinery 15% of manufacturing fatalities US 2022
- Fires/explosions 5% agriculture fatalities US 2022
- Globally, falls 28% of work deaths ILO
- Being struck by objects 19% global fatalities
- Exposure to carcinogens 23% global work deaths
- Injuries from machinery 10% global
- Road traffic 29% transport sector deaths global
- Lifting/carrying caused 22,010 days away cases US 2022
- Striking/pushing caused 15,090 cases US 2022
- EU slips/trips/falls same level 19.8% nonfatal 2021
- UK manual handling 31% of injuries 2022/23
- Australia falls 18% serious claims 2021/22
- Canada sprains/strains 36% lost-time claims 2021
Causes Interpretation
While a third of construction workers fear the long drop down, nurses grapple with violence from the ground up, and the entire world is collectively tripping over, being smacked by, or slowly poisoned by its own tools and tasks.
Demographics
- US men 92% of fatal injuries 2022
- Women 37% of nonfatal cases US private industry 2022
- Age 45-54 highest nonfatal rate 2.1 per 100 US 2022
- Hispanic workers 18% of fatal injuries US 2022 despite 17% workforce
- White non-Hispanic 66% fatalities US 2022
- Black workers 12% fatal injuries US 2022
- Foreign-born workers 27% of fatalities US 2022
- Self-employed 8% of fatal injuries US 2022
- Wage/salary workers 92% fatalities US 2022
- Occupational costs US $171 billion annually for injuries
- Globally work injuries cost 4% GDP ILO
- US median days away 8 for age 16-19 vs 13 for 65+ 2022
- Latino fatal rate 4.0 per 100k US 2022
- Women nonfatal rate 1.5 per 100 vs men 2.9 US 2022
- Age 55-64 fatal rate 5.2 per 100k highest US 2022
- EU men 88% fatal accidents 2021
- UK over 65s 17% of fatal injuries 2022/23 despite 12% workforce
- Australia males 85% serious claims 2021/22
- Canada youth under 25 20% lost-time claims 2021
- US healthcare women 81% nonfatal cases 2022
- Construction men 97% fatalities US 2022
- Manufacturing age 25-34 25% nonfatal US 2022
- Retail trade women 52% cases US 2022
- Mining white 82% fatalities US 2022
Demographics Interpretation
The grim arithmetic of workplace safety reveals a story where men, particularly in middle age and dangerous trades, pay the ultimate price in staggering numbers, while women bear the brunt of non-fatal injuries in sectors like healthcare, and systemic disparities persistently overburden Hispanic and foreign-born workers, painting a global picture of risk that is both lethally predictable and profoundly unequal.
Fatalities
- In 2022, the United States recorded 5,486 fatal workplace injuries, a 5.7% increase from 2021
- Globally, 340 million workers suffer from occupational accidents annually leading to fatalities
- In 2021, construction sector in US had 1,056 fatal injuries, accounting for 20.7% of all workplace deaths
- EU-27 countries reported 3,359 fatal accidents at work in 2021
- Australia saw 29 worker fatalities in 2022, down 32 from previous year
- In Canada, 919 workplace fatalities occurred in 2021
- UK had 135 worker fatal injuries in 2022/23
- India estimates 48,000 annual work-related fatalities
- China reported over 30,000 fatal accidents in 2021
- Brazil had 1,143 occupational fatalities in 2021
- South Africa recorded 464 fatal injuries in mining and construction in 2022
- Japan saw 822 industrial accident deaths in 2021
- Germany reported 838 workplace fatalities in 2021
- France had 1,016 fatal occupational accidents in 2021
- In 2020, falls to lower level caused 351 fatal injuries in US private industry
- Transportation incidents led to 1,522 US workplace fatalities in 2022
- Contact with objects/equipment caused 822 fatal injuries in US 2022
- Exposure to harmful substances/environments resulted in 654 US fatalities in 2022
- Fires/explosions caused 99 fatal injuries in US 2022
- Violence/assaults by persons led to 891 US workplace deaths in 2022
- Intentional self-harm caused 549 fatal injuries in US 2022
- Globally, agriculture sector accounts for 27% of fatal injuries
- Mining industry has fatality rate of 11.3 per 100,000 workers in US 2022
- Logging has highest fatality rate at 82.2 per 100,000 in US 2022
- Fishing has 75.3 fatal incidents per 100,000 in US 2022
- Construction fatality rate 13.1 per 100,000 workers US 2022
- Transportation warehousing rate 14.8 per 100,000 US 2022
- In 2022, male workers accounted for 92.4% of US fatal injuries
- Workers aged 25-34 had 1,056 fatal injuries in US 2022
- Hispanic or Latino workers had 1,046 fatal injuries US 2022
- In 2022, US private industry had a fatal injury rate of 3.7 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers
Fatalities Interpretation
While we diligently count the dead with statistical precision, from logging’s lethal 82.2 per 100,000 to the grim global toll of 340 million accidents, the cold calculus of these workplace injuries reveals a preventable tragedy where every percentage point increase represents a profound human failure.
Nonfatal Injuries
- US total recordable cases of nonfatal injuries and illnesses averaged 2.7 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2022
- Manufacturing sector reported 2.9 cases per 100 workers for nonfatal injuries in 2022 US
- Construction had 2.3 nonfatal injury cases per 100 workers in 2022 US
- Healthcare support services saw 4.6 cases per 100 workers US 2022
- Sprains, strains, tears accounted for 29.5% of nonfatal cases in US private industry 2022
- Soreness, pain caused 8.3% of nonfatal injuries US 2022
- Cuts, lacerations, punctures were 7.8% of private industry cases US 2022
- Bruises, contusions, abrasions, scratches 5.9% US 2022
- Fractures 3.0% of nonfatal workplace injuries US private industry 2022
- Globally, 374 million non-fatal work injuries occur annually
- EU reported 3.2 million non-fatal accidents at work in 2021
- UK had 565,000 non-fatal injuries leading to over 7 days absence in 2022/23
- Australia non-fatal serious claims totaled 142,349 in 2021/22
- Canada reported 240,422 accepted lost-time claims in 2021
- In US 2022, overexertion caused 246,370 nonfatal cases
- Falls on same level led to 169,990 cases US 2022
- Struck by object or equipment 149,290 cases US private industry 2022
- Slip/trip without fall 72,510 cases US 2022
- Days away from work averaged 8.9 days for nonfatal cases US 2022
- Total days away from work totaled 32.0 million days US 2022 nonfatal
- Construction industry had 150,960 nonfatal cases with days away US 2022
- Nursing care facilities 131,920 cases US 2022
- Retail trade 118,240 nonfatal cases US 2022
- Transportation/warehousing 115,880 cases US 2022
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting 33,680 cases US 2022
- Mining had highest rate 2.0 cases per 100 workers US 2022
- Private industry incidence rate 0.9 cases per 10,000 workers for days away 2022 US
- Women had 1.8 nonfatal cases per 100 workers vs 2.5 for men US 2022
- Workers aged 35-44 had highest median days away 10 days US 2022
Nonfatal Injuries Interpretation
The data reveals a painful truth: the modern workplace remains a surprisingly treacherous landscape, with healthcare workers bearing the heaviest burden and simple strains and sprains quietly crippling productivity more than any dramatic accident.
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