This statistic shows preliminary data for the top 10 occupations by fatal work injury deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in the U.S. in 2019. In 2019, the highest occupational injury death rate was to be found among fishers and related fishing workers with a rate of 145 deaths per 100,000 workers.

The second-deadliest workplace shooting in the United States took place in Edmond, Oklahoma in 1986 at a United States post office. There were 15 fatalities and six injuries in this shooting, and the incident inspired the American phrase “going postal.”

Workplace shootings

A mass shooting in the United States is generally defined as an incident where four or more people were injured or killed, though this can vary by source. It is sometimes difficult to identify the cause of workplace killings (also called rampage killings), although many involved disgruntled workers and some involve perpetrators with mental health problems.

Mass shootings in the United States

The vast majority of mass shootings in the United States are perpetrated by male assailants, and only four shootings have been carried out by women since 1982. Additionally, most of the weapons used in mass shootings were acquired through legal means, with only 16 incidents involving illegally obtained weapons since 1982.

There were 309 fire-related fatalities in Great Britain in the 2023/24 reporting year, a decline on the previous reporting year when there were 323. In the early 2000s, the annual number of fire fatalities was consistently over 500, with numbers gradually falling throughout that decade. In 2011/12 the number of fatalities related to fire fell below 400 for the first time, and has remained below 400 since that point. Incidents rise as workforce shrinks Although there has been a net decrease in the number of incidents attended by fire and rescue services since the early 2010s, the current trend from 2014/15 onwards has been one of increase. In 2022/23, there were 759,456 incidents attended by the fire service, which was the most in a reporting year since 2010/11. Like many other public services, the fire service cut significant numbers of staff during the 2010s, with the number of fire and rescue workers in England falling by around 10,000 between 2008 and 2018. In a similar time period, expenditure on fire-protection services in the UK was cut from 3.11 billion in 2009/10, to just 2.72 billion in 2018/19. Workplace fatalities also declining The fall in fire-related fatalities since the 1980s is evidence that the UK has become an increasingly safe society in recent decades. The significant fall in workplace deaths is also evidence of this, with fatal injuries at work declining from 651 in 1974 to just 138 in 2023/24. Injuries to workers have also fallen, with incidents almost halving between 2000/01 and 2023/24. The large shift from more dangerous jobs in manufacturing, production, and agriculture to service-orientated roles also certainly play a role in this decline as well.