More people worked fewer hours in 2020 and that was a factor in the decline in workplace injuries reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to BLS's annual report, workplace fatalities decreased by 10.7 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. Meanwhile, hours worked decreased 9 percent from 296.6 billion hours to 269.9 billion.
The report did not include illness and death resulting from COVID-19 and it did not figure in the decrease in overall hours worked.
According to the report, a worker died every 111 minutes from a work-related injury in 2020. But that was better than the year before. The fatality rate dropped from 3.5 per 100,000 workers in 2019 to 3.4. per 100,000 in 2020. The exception was among Hispanic or Latino workers, which increased from 4.2 deaths per 100,000 workers to 4.5 deaths. Among Black workers, occupational fatalities decreased 14.7 percent in 2020.
Fatal transportation incidents fell 16.2 percent in 2020.
One category that rose: Exposure to harmful substances or environments. The 2020 figure of 672 fatalities was the highest figure since 2011. Included in that category are unintentional overdose from non-medical use of drugs. This segment jumped to 57.7 percent, up from 48.8 percent in 2019.