Commonly Used Statistics

Federal OSHA coverage

Federal OSHA is a small agency; with our state partners we have approximately 1,850 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 70,000 workers.

Federal OSHA has 10 regional offices and 85 local area offices.

OSHA budget

FY 2021 Appropriations: $591,787,000
FY 2020 Appropriations: $581,787,000
FY 2019 Appropriations: $557,787,000

OSHA inspections

FY 2019 total federal inspections: 33,393
FY 2019 total State Plan inspections: 42,063

Worker fatalities

5,333 workers died on the job in 2019 [https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.nr0.htm] (3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) — on average, more than 100 a week or about 15 deaths every day. About 20% (1,061) of worker fatalities in private industry in calendar year 2019 were in construction – accounting for one in five worker deaths for the year.

Top 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards violated in FY 2020

The following were the top 10 most frequently cited standards by Federal OSHA in fiscal year 2020 (October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020):

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]
Respiratory Protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053) [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]
Fall Protection–Training Requirements (29 CFR 1926.503) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Eye and Face Protection (29 CFR 1926.102) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]
Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements (29 CFR 1910.212) [related OSHA Safety and Health Topics page]

To search the top violations of an industry with a specific NAICS code, see https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/citedstandard.html
To search and view the industry profile for violations of any specific OSHA standard, see https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/industryprofile.html

OSHA is Making a Difference

In roughly half a century, 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 15 a day in 2019.
Worker injuries and illnesses are down-from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers in 1972 to 2.8 per 100 in 2019.