What is the Current Employee Safety Landscape?
In early 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) released their most recent analyses of workplace violence and occupational fatalities for North America.
Canadian data is drawn from two complementary sources:
the Federal Harassment and Violence Occurrence Reports (EAHVOR), covering all federally regulated workplaces (e.g. banking, air and rail transport, telecommunications, postal services, and the federal public service), and
the provincial workers’ compensation boards, which record accepted injury claims for assaults and violent acts.
Together, these datasets segment workplace violence into non-fatal assaults, threats, or verbal abuse, and fatal occupational injuries resulting from intentional harm.
The most recent data from U.S employers published from 2021–2022 reported 57,610 non-fatal cases of serious workplace violence that led to time off work, job restrictions, or transfers — about 2.9 cases for every 10,000 full-time worker.¹
Women made up nearly three-quarters (72.5%) of these incidents, with a rate of 5.0 per 10,000, compared to 1.4 for men.²
The Health Care and Social Assistance sector was hit hardest, accounting for over 70% of all private industry cases, with a much higher rate of 14.2 per 10,000 ³ workers — showing just how common workplace violence has become in hospitals, clinics, and care facilities.
In Canada’s federally regulated workplaces, reports of harassment and violence rose in 2023 from 6,226 to 7,114 cases, an increase of about 14% ⁴.Both the public sector (federal government and agencies) and the private sector (banks, airlines, telecoms, etc.) saw increases — 13% and 32% respectively ⁵.
Although Canada does not yet have one nationwide system for tracking non-fatal workplace violence, several provincial workers’ compensation boards report accepted claims for assaults and violent acts.The latest figures show that Québec ⁶, British Columbia ⁷, Alberta ⁸, and Manitoba ⁹ recorded about 10,600 accepted violence claims in 2023, representing more than 80% of Canada’s compensated workforce — a strong indicator of the scale of the problem across the country.
In the United States, the Health Care and Social Assistance sector remains the main hotspot for non-fatal workplace violence, both in the number of incidents and in the rate per worker.
Health care and social assistance experienced the highest count of Days Away from Work (DAFW) , due to intentional injury, during the two-year period from 2021-2022 totalling 81% ³ of those listed below.
Other sectors also face growing risks. Retail, transportation, and warehousing continue to report high numbers of assaults, threats, and verbal abuse, especially in roles that handle money or involve direct contact with the public. The steady rise in reports across these public-facing and service-based industries shows that they remain on the front line of workplace violence in the U.S.
Health care and Social assistance are the main hotspot for non-fatal workplace violence.
61% of nurses reported a serious problem with violence over a 12 month period. ¹º
Most incidents involve conflict between employees.
In Canada, the same trend is evident. Within federally regulated industries, most reports come from public service departments, Crown corporations, banking, transport, and postal services, which together account for about 80% of all cases. Most incidents involve conflict between employees, followed by issues with supervisors or aggressive behaviour from the public.
Provincial workers’ compensation data show a similar pattern, with assaults and violent acts concentrated in public-facing jobs such as health and social care, emergency response, and retail or security work.According to a 2019 report by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU), 61% of nurses ¹º reported a serious problem with violence over a 12-month period, including verbal abuse, racial or sexual harassment, and physical assault. This reinforces the evidence that health-care workers face some of the highest rates of workplace violence in the country, often while working alone or in unpredictable, high-pressure environments.
In 2023, the United States recorded 5,283 workplace fatalities, meaning that on average, a worker lost their life every 99 minutes as a result of a work-related injury. ¹¹Although transportation incidents and falls remained the leading causes overall, violence in the workplace continued to take a heavy toll. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 740 ¹² deaths caused by violent acts, with homicides accounting for nearly two-thirds of those cases.
This makes intentional violence one of the most persistent and troubling risks to worker safety in American workplaces.
Some industries stand out for the scale and nature of their risks. The construction sector once again recorded the highest number of fatalities — 1,075 deaths ¹³, the most since 2011 — largely due to falls and transportation incidents. Transportation and warehousing followed closely with 930 ¹⁴ deaths, reflecting the hazards faced by drivers, logistics staff, and delivery workers.
In the retail trade, nearly one in three fatalities resulted from homicide ¹⁵, highlighting how violence continues to endanger front-line employees. Workers aged 55 to 64 remained the most vulnerable age group, accounting for more than one-fifth of all workplace deaths nationwide. ¹⁶By contrast, Canada reported only a handful of fatalities linked to workplace violence in federally regulated employment over recent years — three in 2022 and one in 2023 ¹⁷— underscoring how severe the problem remains in the United States, both in scale and frequency.
Industries with Highest Total Fatalities Across the U.S in 2023
Industry
Number of fatalities
Construction
1,075
Transportation and warehousing
930
Administrative and support and waste management
484
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
448
Manufacturing
391
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance
337
Retail trade
306
Health care and social assistance
133
