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State's 2022 fatal work-injuries similar to 2021

December 20, 2023

A total of 81 fatal work-injuries were recorded in Minnesota in 2022 during the annual Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), up one from the 80 fatal work-injuries in 2021. Minnesota's 2022 fatal-injury rate is 2.8 fatalities per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers, which remained unchanged from the 2021 rate. These and other workplace fatality statistics come from the CFOI, conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor.

Nationally, there were 5,486 fatally injured workers in 2022, up 5.7% from the 2021 count of 5,190 workers. The fatal work-injury rate was 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers, up from 3.6 in 2021.

The CFOI also provided the following statistics for Minnesota's workplace fatalities during 2022.

Industries

  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting recorded the highest number of worker fatalities, with 20 cases, nine more than in 2021.

  • Construction had the second-highest number of worker fatalities, with 13 cases, five fewer than in 2021.

  • Other industries that saw increases in fatalities included administrative, support, waste management and remediation services   (from seven fatalities in 2021 to 12 in 2022), educational and health services (from three fatalities in 2021 to six in 2022) and manufacturing (from six fatalities in 2021 to seven in 2022).

Occupations

  • The management occupational group had the highest number of fatalities in 2022, at 18. This was an increase from five fatalities in 2021. Nationally  , this occupational group includes construction managers and farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers in 2022.

  • The construction and extraction occupational group had the second-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 13, down from 17 fatalities in 2021. Construction trades workers suffered eight of the work-related deaths within this occupational group and first-line supervisors suffered four. Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners accounted for the last death counted in the group.

  • Transportation and material moving occupations had the third-highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 11, down from 25 fatalities in 2021. Within this group, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers had five fatalities. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand, had three fatalities.

Types of incidents

  • Transportation incidents accounted for 27 fatalities, the most for any incident type, which was down from 33 in 2021. Sixteen transportation fatalities occurred during roadway incidents involving one or more motorized land vehicles and seven occurred during non-roadway incidents. Three incidents involved pedestrians struck by vehicles. There was also one aircraft incident.

  • Falls, slips and trips was the second most-frequent fatal work-related injury event in 2022, with 18 fatalities. This category decreased from 19 fatalities in 2021.

  • Contact with objects and equipment accounted for 16 fatalities in 2022.

Worker characteristics

  • Men accounted for 67 of the 81 fatally injured workers in 2022. There were 14 fatally injured female workers, double the number in 2021. For both men and women, transportation incidents accounted for the highest number of fatalities.

  • More than one-quarter of worker fatalities were workers age 65 and older (22 fatalities in 2022, compared with nine in 2021). Falls, slips and trips accounted for the largest event (10 fatalities) among this age group.

  • Fatal work-related injuries among wage and salary workers decreased from 65 in 2021 to 55 in 2022; self-employed workers accounted for 26 fatalities in 2022, compared with 15 in 2021.

Minnesota OSHA fatality investigations

Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) workplace fatality investigation statistics differ from CFOI. MNOSHA Compliance investigates all employee deaths under its jurisdiction that result from an accident or illness caused by or related to a workplace hazard. In federal-fiscal-year 2022 (October 2021 through September 2022), MNOSHA Compliance investigated 50 workplace fatalities (see dli.mn.gov/business/workplace-safety-and-health/mnosha-compliance-fatalities-investigated). The CFOI numbers include Minnesota workplace fatalities caused by traffic accidents, airplane crashes, mining accidents and farm accidents, and accidents to the self-employed, federal workers and railroad workers, none of which are covered by MNOSHA Compliance enforcement.

CFOI program

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' occupational safety and health statistics program, provides the most complete count of fatal work-injuries available. Fatal  occupational illnesses are out of scope for CFOI unless precipitated by an acute injury.
The program uses diverse data sources to identify, verify and profile fatal work-injuries. Information about each workplace fatality (occupation and other worker characteristics, equipment being used and circumstances of the event) is obtained by cross-referencing source documents, such as death certificates, workers' compensation records, and reports to federal and state agencies. This method assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) collects the information about Minnesota's workplace fatalities for the CFOI.

Minnesota 2022 CFOI tables are available at dli.mn.gov/our-areas-service/research-and-statistics/census-fatal-occupational-injuries-cfoi. Additional data may be available by calling DLI Research and Data Analytics at 651-284-5428. National data from the CFOI program is available at bls.gov/iif/fatal-injuries-tables.htm.

Media contact:  James Honerman at 651-284-5313 or james.honerman@state.mn.us.