Workplace safety
US work deaths fell 4.0% to 5,070 in 2024: one every 104 minutes
5,070. That's how many fatal work injuries the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded in the United States in 2024, down 4.0% from 5,283 in 2023.
Put another way, a worker died from a work-related injury every 104 minutes, against every 99 minutes the year before. The fatal injury rate fell to 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, its second yearly decline in a row.
This page traces the totals, the rate and the leading causes to the BLS release, and points to where the manufacturing-specific count lives.
Data covers Fatal occupational injuries in the United States in 2024 versus 2023 (BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, released February 19, 2026). Published 2026-10-16. Last reviewed 2026-10-16. Last updated 2026-10-16. Edited by Mike Ramsey / Reliable Media.
The figures and where they come from
Each figure is rated for how safely you can cite it today. Ratings judge current usability, not whether a number was ever correct.
| Figure | What it is | Source | Citation Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,070 | Fatal work injuries in the US, 2024 | [A] | High | All industries, counting wage and salary workers and the self-employed, from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. |
| -4.0% (from 5,283) | Change from 2023 | [A] | High | The 2023 count as given in this release. |
| 3.3 per 100,000 FTE workers | Fatal injury rate, 2024 | [A] | High | Down from 3.5 in 2023. FTE means full-time equivalent, so part-time hours are scaled to full-time. |
| Second yearly decline in a row | Rate trend | [A] | High | The BLS's own description of the rate. |
| Every 104 minutes | How often a worker died, 2024 | [A] | High | Every 99 minutes in 2023. |
| 38.2% | Transportation incidents, share of deaths | [A] | High | The most frequent fatal event, a share of all 5,070 deaths. |
| 844 (-4.6%) | Fatal falls, slips and trips | [A] | High | Down from 885 in 2023. |
| -16.2% | Exposure to harmful substances or environments | [A] | High | The BLS says this drop, to 687 cases, largely drove the overall decrease. |
| 1,391 deaths | Transportation and material moving occupations | [A] | High | The occupational group with the most fatalities, down 7.0% from 1,495. |
Why the numbers disagree
Counts and rates move differently. The count fell 4.0%, and the rate, which adjusts for how many hours people worked, fell from 3.5 to 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. Quote the rate when comparing years with different employment levels.
The headline cause and the driver of the decline aren't the same thing. Transportation incidents were the most frequent fatal event at 38.2% of deaths, but the BLS says the fall in 2024 was largely driven by a 16.2% drop in deaths from exposure to harmful substances or environments.
This summary doesn't give a manufacturing count. The BLS publishes industry breakdowns in its detailed CFOI tables, so a manufacturing figure for 2024 has to come from those tables, with its own citation.
How to cite these figures
Cite it as BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: 5,070 fatal work injuries in the US in 2024, down 4.0%, a rate of 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.
Give shares with their base. Transportation incidents were 38.2% of all 2024 occupational fatalities.
For manufacturing or robot-related deaths, use the BLS industry tables or OSHA records and cite them separately. This summary doesn't break either out.
Where people go wrong
Attributing these deaths to manufacturing or to robots. The 5,070 covers all industries, and the summary doesn't isolate either.
Comparing 2024's 5,070 with an earlier year's count without the rate. Employment changes from year to year.
Calling transportation incidents the reason deaths fell. The BLS credits the decline largely to fewer exposure deaths.
How we checked
Every figure is taken from the BLS news release for the 2024 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, published February 19, 2026. We cite the archived copy so the link keeps pointing at the 2024 release after the BLS publishes the next one.
We quote the 2023 comparison values from the same release rather than from earlier ones, so each change is computed on one consistent basis.
Full source list
Primary sources, with live links. Every figure above traces to one of these.
- [A]U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFebruary 19, 2026
BLS, "Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2024" (news release USDL-26-0230)
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cfoi_02192026.htm
Common questions
- How many people died on the job in the US in 2024?
- 5,070, according to the BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, down 4.0% from 5,283 in 2023. That's a worker death every 104 minutes.
- What was the US fatal work injury rate in 2024?
- 3.3 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, down from 3.5 in 2023 and the second yearly decline in a row.
- What is the most common cause of workplace death?
- Transportation incidents, which accounted for 38.2% of all occupational fatalities in 2024, per the BLS.
- How many manufacturing workers died at work in 2024?
- The BLS summary release doesn't give that figure. It's in the detailed CFOI industry tables. Our page on 2023 manufacturing fatalities shows the earlier year.
More data, traced to source
- US manufacturing had 391 workplace deaths, out of 5,283 total
Across US industry, 5,283 people died from work injuries in the latest CFOI year, with 391 of those deaths in manufacturing. The figure counts fatal work injuries in the sector, from vehicles to falls to machines, so it is not a robot-death count, and reading it as one is a common mistake.
- US private employers reported 2.5 million injuries and illnesses in 2024
BLS data show US private employers reported 2.5 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2024, down 3.1% and the fewest since the series began in 2003. The rate fell to 2.3 cases per 100 full-time workers, and manufacturing's rate fell too.
- Robot workplace deaths: what the public record does and doesn't show
The figure of about 41 US robot-related deaths is quoted widely, but it cannot be verified through any free primary source, and the same agency has published two different totals. This page traces what is and is not documentable about robot workplace fatalities.
- Caught in machinery: the US severe injury and amputation numbers
Body parts caught in running machinery is the leading cause of severe workplace injury in the US, at 12,930 reports and 18% of the total. Manufacturing accounts for 69% of them. The OSHA figures, assembled.