The National Safety Council is alarmed to see a 2% rise in total worker deaths – 5,333 fatal workplace injuries in 2019 compared to 5,250 in 2018 – according to data released on Wednesday, December 16 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite the fact that the rate of death has not changed from 2017, this is the highest number of workplace deaths since 2007. Even more alarming is that these are pre-pandemic figures: 2020 data could be far bleaker given COVID-19’s impact on workplace safety.

Additional notable changes included increases in the number of deaths from unintentional overdose and motor vehicle crashes. Unintentional overdoses in the workplace increased for the seventh consecutive year to 313 in 2019 – a 2% increase from 2018. The BLS data indicate that transportation incidents increased 2 percent in 2019 to 2,122 cases, the most cases since this series began in 2011. Roadway trends have continued to be disturbing in 2020, according to NSC preliminary data.