CFOI Press Release for 2023

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CFOI Press Release for 2023

01/14/2025

ARKANSAS WORK-RELATED FATALITIES FOR 2023

Little Rock – There were 92 work-related fatalities recorded in Arkansas in 2023. This data is from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) conducted by the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Division of Labor, OSH/CFOI Section, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Worker Characteristics

  • There were 92 fatal work injuries in 2023, up 22.7% from 75 in 2022. This is the highest work-related fatality count in Arkansas since 2011, when we had 93 deaths.
  • There were 72 deaths in 2023 involving wage and salary workers in the private sector, up from 57 in 2022. Self-employed worker fatalities accounted for 14, up from 7 in 2022. Fatal injuries among local and state government workers accounted for 6 in 2023, down from 10 in 2022. 5 were local government workers, and 1 was a state government worker.
  • There were 82 men and 10 women that died in a work-related incident in 2023, compared to 72 men and 3 women who died in 2022.
  • There were 8 fatalities in the 20 to 24 years old age group; 17 were from 25 to 34 years of age; 14 were 35 to 44 years of age; 8 were 45 to 54 years of age; 31 were 55 to 64 years of age; and 13 that were 65 years and over.

Fatal Event or Exposure

Fifty-two (52) or 56.5%, of the 92 work-related fatal injuries in 2023 were the result of transportation incidents.

  • Work-related transportation fatality incidents doubled from 26 in 2022 and led all fatality events for the 30th year in a row.
  • This includes 16 work-related deaths from roadway collisions with another vehicle, up from 12 in 2022. Seventeen (17) workers died from roadway collision with object other than vehicle, up from 8 in 2022. There were 5 deaths from roadway non-collision incidents.
  • There were 8 workers killed in pedestrian vehicular incidents, up from 3 in 2022.

Other Fatal Events or Exposures

  • A total of 11 workers (12%) were fatally injured due to contact with objects or equipment in 2023, down from 15 in 2022. This total includes 8 workers that were struck by propelled, falling, or suspended object.
  • Falls, slips, and trips resulted in 11 work-related fatalities (12.0%) in 2023, down from 13 in 2022.
  • There were 9 worker deaths (9.8%) due to exposure to harmful substances or environments in 2023, same as 2022. This included 5 workers that died from exposure to harmful substances.
  • There were 9 other work-related fatalities (9.8%) in 2023, down from 12 in 2022. This category includes violent acts, and explosions and fires.

Industry

By industry, there were 30 fatalities in the trade, transportation, and utilities sector; 18 in construction; 13 in professional and business services; 9 in natural resources and mining; 9 in manufacturing; and 4 in leisure and hospitality.

Occupation

There were 3 fatalities among management occupations; 3 among food preparation and serving related occupations; 4 among building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations; 1 among sales and related occupations; 5 among farming, fishing, and forestry occupations; 16 among construction and extraction occupations; 5 among installation, maintenance, and repair occupations; and 43 among transportation and material moving occupations.

Nationally, a total of 5,283 workers died from a work-related injury in the United States in 2023, a 3.7 percent decrease from the total of 5,486 deaths in 2022. On average, a worker died every 99 minutes from a work-related injury in 2023.

Note: Because of publication criteria, components may not add to totals.

Background of the Program

In an effort to compile data that is as complete as possible, the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) uses diverse sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. Source documents, such as death certificates, workers’ compensation reports, and Federal and State agency administrative records are cross-referenced to gather key information about each workplace fatality, such as the particular occupation and industry in which the fatality occurred, worker demographics, equipment or machinery involved, and circumstances of the event. The CFOI program compiles the most complete, verifiable count of fatal occupational injuries in the United States.

For additional information, please go to www.bls.gov/iif or www.labor.arkansas.gov.

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