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The number of fatal injuries in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry rose from 78 in 2020 to 95 in 2021, a 21.8-percent increase. Fatal injuries in the industry were above 100 in the three years prior to 2020: 112 fatalities in 2017, 130 fatalities in 2018, and 127 fatalities in 2019.
Within the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry in 2021, the most work-related fatal injuries were in support activities for mining, at 57 fatalities, followed by nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying (15 fatalities), and coal mining (10 fatalities).
The fatal injury rate for the overall mining industry in 2021 was 14.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. This was compared to a rate of 3.8 overall in private industry.
Industry | Fatal injury rate |
---|---|
Total, private |
3.8 |
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction |
14.2 |
Oil and gas extraction |
9.8 |
Mining (except oil and gas) |
17.8 |
Coal mining |
19.6 |
Metal ore mining |
19.2 |
Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying |
16.3 |
Support activities for mining |
13.4 |
Within mining, coal mining had 19.6 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, while oil and gas extraction had 9.8 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2021.
These data are from the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. To learn more, see “National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2021.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics also has more charts on work-related deaths. Updated data will be published in the 2022 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Mining fatalities rose 21.8 percent from 2020 to 2021 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/mining-fatalities-rose-21-8-percent-from-2020-to-2021.htm (visited September 06, 2024).