Nearly 5,200 workers died of traumatic injury on the job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2016, the last year for which complete data is available. This indicates a trend of more workers dying on the job, with 2016 being the third consecutive year finding an increase in fatalities and the highest number since 2008.
Government estimates also show that occupational disease kills another 50,000 people every year – more than homicides, suicides or traffic accidents.
In Illinois, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that fatal work injuries totaled 171. For a breakdown of the types of incidents that caused these fatalities, click here.
Those killed on the job were remembered on April 28, which the President proclaimed Workers’ Memorial Day as a day of remembrance for workers killed in incidents at work or by diseases caused by work. Events commemorating these workers were held throughout the world. Started by the Canadian Union of Public Employees in 1984, Workers’ Memorial Day was first recognized in the United States of America in 1989. For years, events have been organized in Canada and the USA and then worldwide.