The workplace in 2021 was more deadly than it’s been since 2016, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In its “National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2021” report, the BLS said there were 5,190 fatal work injuries in the U.S. last year.
This serves as an 8.9 percent increase from the 4,764 fatal work injuries in 2020.
The fatal injury rate of 3.6 per 100,000 workers was the highest it’s been since 2016.
This equates to a person dying every 101 minutes from a work-related injury in 2021.
The report adds that the share of Black workers fatally injured reached an all time high.
The American Society of Safety Professionals released a statement saying they were “disheartened” by the data.
ASSP President Christine Sullivan called the nation’s fatal worker injury rate “unacceptable” and said it was “made worse by minority populations being disproportionately impacted.”
