TranslateCommonly Used Statistics
Federal OSHA coverage
Federal OSHA is a small agency; with our state partners we have approximately 2,200 inspectors responsible for the health and safety of 130 million workers, employed at more than 8 million worksites around the nation — which translates to about one compliance officer for every 59,000 workers.
Federal OSHA has 10 regional offices and 90 local area offices.
OSHA budget
FY 2014: $552,247,000
FY 2015: $552,787,000
FY 2016: $552,787,000
OSHA inspections
FY 2015 total federal inspections: 35,820
FY 2015 total State Plan inspections: 43,471
Worker injuries, illnesses and fatalities
4,821 workers were killed on the job in 2014 [www.bls.gov/iif/cfoi_revised14.htm] (3.4 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) — on average, more than 92 a week or more than 13 deaths every day.
804 Hispanic or Latino workers were killed from work-related injuries in 2014—on average, more than 15 deaths a week or two Latino workers killed every single day of the year, all year long.
Fatal work injuries involving contractors accounted for 17 percent of all fatal work injuries in 2014.
Construction's "Fatal Four"
Out of 4,386 worker fatalities in private industry in calendar year 2014, 899 or 20.5% were in construction-that is, one in five worker deaths last year were in construction. The leading causes of private sector worker deaths (excluding highway collisions) in the construction industry were falls, followed by electrocution, struck by object, and caught-in/between. These "Fatal Four" were responsible for more than half (60.6%) the construction worker deaths in 2014, BLS reports. Eliminating the Fatal Four would save 545 workers' lives in America every year.
- Falls — 359 out of 899 total deaths in construction in CY 2014 (39.9%)
- Electrocutions - 74 (8.2%)
- Struck by Object - 73 (8.1%)
- Caught-in/between* - 39 (4.3%)
(*This category includes construction workers killed when caught-in or compressed by equipment or objects, and struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material)
Top 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards violated in FY2015
The following were the top 10 most frequently cited standards by Federal OSHA in fiscal year 2015 (October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015):
- Fall protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
- Hazard communication standard, general industry (29 CFR 1910.1200) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
- Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
- Respiratory protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
- Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (29 CFR 1910.147) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
- Powered industrial trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
- Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
- Electrical, wiring methods, components and equipment, general industry (29 CFR 1910.305) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
- Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.212) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
- Electrical systems design, general requirements, general industry (29 CFR 1910.303) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
OSHA is Making a Difference
- In four decades, OSHA and our state partners, coupled with the efforts of employers, safety and health professionals, unions and advocates, have had a dramatic effect on workplace safety.
- Worker deaths in America are down-on average, from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to 13 a day in 2014.
- Worker injuries and illnesses are down-from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers in 1972 to 3.0 per 100 in 2015.