When the nation first observed Workers Memorial Day in 1970, an estimated 38 U.S. workers suffered fatal on-the-job injuries each day, according to the Department of Labor, and many more endured debilitating respiratory diseases and other life-altering illnesses related to workplace exposures.
Today, that number has been cut by more than half, to about 15 people losing their lives on the job. In 2022, a reported 5,486 workers suffered fatal injuries, an increase of 296 worker deaths from 2021.