Fatal work injuries to Black or African American workers down in 2020

Black or African American workers incurred 541 fatal work injuries in 2020, a 14.7-percent decrease from the 634 reported in 2019. The rate of fatal work injuries for these workers also declined in 2020, to 3.5 per 100,000 full-time workers from a rate of 3.6 in 2019. Although the rate declined in 2020, this group’s rate is higher than the fatality rate for all workers (3.4 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers).

In 2020, Black or African American workers experienced decreases in deaths for every major event or exposure category. The event or exposure categories with the largest decrease in fatal injuries to these workers were violence and other injuries by persons or animals, which decreased by 21.9 percent (35 fatalities), followed by deaths attributed to transportation incidents, which decreased 12.5 percent (32 fatalities).

These data are from the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. To learn more, see “National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2020.” We also have more charts on fatal work injuries. In these data, Black or African American workers do not include those who also are identified as having Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.