On Dec. 16 the Bureau of Labor Statistics released an annual report on workplace fatalities for 2020 and it showed that workplace fatalities for 2020 decreased by 10.7% in 2020 compared to 2019.
The total of 4,764 workplace injuries represented the lowest annual number of workplace injury deaths since 2013.
While the report does not include COVID-19 illness deaths, the decrease in hours worked, resulting from the economic disruption triggered by the pandemic, likely played a substantial role in the decline.\
Looking at the fatality rate, it also dropped from 3.5 to 3.4 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. This means that in 2020 a worker died every 111 minutes from a work-related injury.
Some of the key takeaways from the report, as shared from the National Safety Council are:
- Hours worked decreased 9% in 2020, from 296.6 billion hours to 269.9 billion
- Transportation incidents remained the most frequent type of fatal event with 1,778 fatal injuries, accounting for 37.3% of all work-related fatalities
- Although the overall fatality rate decreased, the fatality rate among Hispanic or Latino workers increased, from 4.2 to 4.5 deaths per 100,000 workers
- Unintentional overdose from nonmedical use of drugs increased 24% and accounted for 388 deaths, compared to 313 in 2019
- Suicides decreased 15.6%, from 307 in 2019 to 259 in 2020, representing the lowest count for occupational suicides since 2015
The National Safety Council offers resources to help companies provide safer workplaces:
- COVID-19 resources through the SAFER initiative
- Free NSC toolkits, including the Opioids at Work Employer Toolkit, Fatigue at Work Employer Toolkit and Safe Driving Toolkit
- The Campbell Institute at NSC research, such as “Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention: Perspectives and Practices”