Every figure on this page is sourced from BLS SOII, BLS CFOI, OEWS, Liberty Mutual's Workplace Safety Index, and NASI. Built and refreshed by The Ergo Report Data Desk. Methodology →
Both injury rates and fatality counts have edged downward since 2019, with the sharpest move on the nonfatal side: TRC dropped from 2.7 to 2.4 between 2022 and 2023 - a 11% year-over-year improvement and a multi-decade low.
Transportation & warehousing (4.5) and health care & social assistance (4.5) tie for the highest TRC rate among major industries - both nearly 2x the all-private baseline. Mining and information sit at the safe end. Finance & insurance is the safest at 0.4.
BLS SOII 2023 → · Dashed line is the 2.4 all-private baseline
Zoom past the headline categories and the rate distribution gets dramatic. Skiing facilities clock a 14.7 TRC rate - six times the national baseline. State-government hospitals (8.5) and veterinary services (8.0) outpace any private sub-industry. Animal slaughtering (4.7) and wood product manufacturing (4.6) are the most dangerous goods-producing sub-sectors.
Logging workers face a fatal injury rate of 98.9 per 100,000 - roughly 28 times the all-occupation average of 3.5. But raw rate isn't everything: heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers post a "moderate" rate of 11.0, yet account for 941 deaths a year, more than any single occupation by sheer headcount.
BLS CFOI 2022 occupation rates → · Numbers on the right are absolute fatality counts
Transportation & warehousing claimed 1,495 lives in 2023 - the deadliest industry by raw count. Construction was second at 1,075. Together those two sectors account for nearly half of all U.S. workplace fatalities.
Transportation incidents alone account for 36.8% of all fatal workplace injuries - 1,942 deaths in 2023. Falls, slips and trips (16.4%) and contact with objects or equipment (14.0%) round out the top three. Workplace violence (14.6%) is now the second-largest category, exceeding falls.
Click any state to filter. Toggle between fatal injury rate (per 100k workers) and raw fatality counts. Wyoming's 11.0 rate is 3x the national average. Texas leads on raw counts at 578 deaths.
BLS CFOI 2023 → · 51 states + DC charted
Workplace death is overwhelmingly a male phenomenon - men account for 91.9% of fatalities (4,856 of 5,283). Hispanic workers represent 22.3% of fatalities, disproportionate to their workforce share. Foreign-born workers account for 23.1% (1,219 deaths). Workers 55+ are the largest age group at 35% combined.
Liberty Mutual's 2024 Workplace Safety Index pegs the top 10 causes of disabling injury at $58.6 billion in direct costs - overexertion alone runs $13.6B. NASI tracks $58.7 billion in workers compensation benefits paid in 2022. Including indirect costs (lost productivity, replacement hiring, training, lost morale), the conservative national estimate exceeds $176 billion a year.
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) - the umbrella for ergonomic injury - accounted for 247,620 cases in 2023, 26.8% of all injuries severe enough to require days away from work. The median MSD case requires 14 days off, double the 7 days for non-MSD cases. Transportation & warehousing leads with a 36.5 MSD incidence rate.
The 10 most-asked questions when reporting on workplace risk, answered with current BLS figures.
Logging workers, with a fatal injury rate of 98.9 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers - roughly 28x the all-occupation rate of 3.5. Roofers (51.5) and construction trades helpers (43.5) follow.
5,283 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2023, down 3.7% from 5,486 in 2022. That works out to one worker death every 99 minutes.
Slowly, yes. The Total Recordable Cases rate dropped from 2.7 per 100 FTE in 2022 to 2.4 in 2023 - a 11% year-over-year drop and a multi-decade low. Fatal counts dipped 3.7%. But certain occupations (logging, roofing, trucking) remain dramatically more dangerous than average.
Wyoming (11.0 per 100k), North Dakota (9.6), West Virginia (9.2), Montana (7.9), and Mississippi (7.4) lead the rankings - driven by oil & gas, mining, and agricultural employment.
Liberty Mutual's 2024 Workplace Safety Index pegs the top 10 most disabling injury causes at $58.6 billion in direct costs annually. NASI reports $58.7 billion in workers compensation benefits paid in 2022. Including indirect costs (lost productivity, hiring, training), total economic burden is estimated at $176 billion+.
Transportation incidents account for 36.8% of fatal injuries (1,942 deaths in 2023) - the largest single category. Falls/slips/trips are next at 16.4%, followed by violence (14.6%) and contact with objects (14.0%).
TRC stands for Total Recordable Cases - the BLS rate of recordable injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time-equivalent workers per year. The all-private-industry baseline is 2.4. Below 1.0 is considered low risk; above 4.0 is high risk.
Yes. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) accounted for 247,620 cases in 2023, or 26.8% of all injuries requiring days away from work. The median MSD case requires 14 days away, double the 7 days for non-MSD cases.
Men account for 91.9% of fatal work injuries (4,856 of 5,283 in 2023). Hispanic/Latino workers represent 22.3% of fatalities - disproportionate to their share of the workforce. Foreign-born workers account for 23.1%.
All figures are sourced from BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, and NASI. The Ergo Report Data Desk refreshes this page monthly. 2024 data is released in late 2025.
Every figure on this page is sourced from public government datasets or major published indices. Citation footprint and limitations below.
The Ergo Report Data Desk. (2026). Workplace Injury & Risk Trends - National Dataset. theergoreport.com/workplace-trends. Sources: BLS SOII, BLS CFOI, Liberty Mutual WSI, NASI.