Workplace Fatalities in the U.S. for 2024

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects over 5,000 fatal workplace accidents in 2024, highlighting that truck drivers and construction workers will bear the brunt of these incidents.

Specifically, the BLS noted, “There were 5,070 fatal workplace accidents recorded in the United States in 2024, which marks a 4.0% decrease from the 5,283 in 2023.”

Among these, 1,018 fatalities are expected to involve motorists, with large truck drivers and tractor-trailer operators accounting for 798 of those deaths.

Interestingly, the BLS also pointed out a decline in road accidents involving land vehicles, which dropped by 8.5%, falling from 1,252 in 2023 to 1,146 in 2024. However, pedestrian deaths related to land vehicles unfortunately rose by 19.0%, going from 310 in 2023 to 369 in 2024.

The report predicts that construction workers will see 788 fatal accidents, along with 239 fatalities among grounds maintenance workers this year.

A significant number of overall fatalities in the workplace stemmed from homicides and suicides in 2024, recording 470 and 263 respectively.

Additionally, the analysis revealed that 410 deaths were related to drug and alcohol overdoses.

According to the BLS, “The reduction in fatal injuries in 2024 was primarily driven by a 16.2% decrease in the number of deaths from hazardous substance exposure (from 820 to 687). Fatalities from drug or alcohol overdoses also decreased significantly, from 512 deaths in 2023 to 410 in 2024.”

Interestingly, in 2024, only 53 fatal occupational injuries were recorded among forestry, conservation, and logging workers, while fishing and hunting workers saw just 24 fatalities.

Despite these statistics, both logging and fishing sectors reported high fatal accident rates per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers—logging at 110.4 and fishing at 88.8 in 2024. For roofers, the rate stands at 48.7 per 100,000 workers.