When exploring work-related injury and fatality trends, the question “What is the most dangerous industry?” often comes up. Because work-related “danger” is defined in several different ways, there is no one answer to this seemingly simple question.
In 2020, depending on the measure used, each of these four industries could be ranked as most dangerous:
- Construction– experienced the most workplace deaths
- Education and health services– experienced the most nonfatal injuries and illnesses involving days away from work
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting– experienced the highest death rate per 100,000 workers
- Education and health services– experienced the highest injury and illness rate involving days away from work per 10,000 workers
The 2020 nonfatal injuries and illnesses cases involving days away from work rankings were dramatically impacted by COVID-19 Illness cases. Because of COVID-19 cases, the education and health services industry moved from experiencing the 7th highest injury and illness rate per 10,000 workers to the highest, overtaking transportation and warehousing for the top spot. Education and health services also moved from experiencing the 2nd most nonfatal injuries and illnesses involving days away from work to the top spot in 2020, overtaking the government industry. To explore COVID-19 workplace illness trends in more detail, visit the COVID-19 workplace page.
Please note: Caution should be used when interpreting the industry ranking for 2019. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) did not report fatality data at the private industry level for several major industry sectors in 2019 (Professional and business services, Information, and Manufacturing). BLS indicates these industries did not meet publishable standards for 2019. BLS suppresses industry estimates if they don’t meet certain criteria for both reliability and confidentiality.
Use the interactive chart to explore each of these measures and how the rankings have changed over time.
Source: National Safety Council analysis of BLS data
Federal OSHA is a small agency; with our state partners we have approximately 1,850 inspectors responsible for the health and safety of 130 million workers, employed at more than 8 million worksites
around the nation — which translates to about one compliance officer for every 70,000 workers. Federal OSHA has 10 regional offices and 85 local area offices. FY 2022 Appropriations: $591,787,000 FY 2021 total federal inspections: 24,333Commonly Used Statistics
Federal OSHA coverage
OSHA budget
FY 2021 Appropriations: $591,233,000OSHA inspections
Worker fatalities
4,764 workers died on the job in 2020 (3.4 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers). Workers in transportation and material moving occupations and construction and extraction occupations accounted for nearly half of all fatal occupational injuries (47.4 percent), representing 1,282 and 976 workplace deaths, respectively.
Most frequently violated standards
Top 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards violated in FY 2021
The following were the top 10 most frequently cited standards by Federal OSHA in fiscal year 2021 (October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021):
- Fall Protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501) [related safety resources]
- Respiratory Protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134) [related safety resources]
- Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053) [related safety resources]
- Hazard Communication, general industry (29 CFR 1910.1200) [related safety resources]
- Scaffolding, construction (29 CFR 1926.451) [related safety resources]
- Fall Protection Training, construction (29 CFR 1926.503) [related safety resources]
- Control of Hazardous Energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (29 CFR 1910.147) [related safety resources]
- Eye and Face Protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.102) [related safety resources]
- Powered Industrial Trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178) [related safety resources]
- Machinery and Machine Guarding, general industry (29 CFR 1910.212) [related safety resources]
- To search the top violations of an industry with a specific NAICS code, see //www.osha.gov/pls/imis/citedstandard.html
- To search and view the industry profile for violations of any specific OSHA standard, see //www.osha.gov/pls/imis/industryprofile.html
OSHA is Making a Difference
- In roughly half a century, OSHA and our state partners, coupled with the efforts of employers, safety and health professionals, unions and advocates, have had a dramatic effect on workplace safety.
- Worker deaths in America are down—on average, from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to 13 a day in 2020.
- Worker injuries and illnesses are down—from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers in 1972 to 2.7 per 100 in 2020.