The Wage and Hour Division and Occupational Safety and Health Administration are responsible for more workers than they were 40 years ago: Number of private-sector workers per investigators, 1979-2019
| Fiscal Year | Wage and Hour Division | Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 81,717 | 61,642 |
| 1980 | 84,215 | 60,710 |
| 1981 | 94,420 | 69,916 |
| 1982 | 96,685 | 88,106 |
| 1983 | 96,019 | 76,816 |
| 1984 | 102,192 | 90,007 |
| 1985 | 101,383 | 93,782 |
| 1986 | 108,196 | 100,761 |
| 1987 | 106,272 | 101,166 |
| 1988 | 109,526 | 90,432 |
| 1989 | 110,348 | 103,119 |
| 1990 | 115,782 | 90,277 |
| 1991 | 123,495 | 93,952 |
| 1992 | 128,529 | 97,036 |
| 1993 | 136,072 | 103,699 |
| 1994 | 140,628 | 111,831 |
| 1995 | 142,663 | 117,053 |
| 1996 | 150,856 | 126,415 |
| 1997 | 128,473 | 115,368 |
| 1998 | 131,717 | 120,581 |
| 1999 | 135,355 | 125,334 |
| 2000 | 136,859 | 133,621 |
| 2001 | 137,181 | 129,506 |
| 2002 | 142,799 | 126,090 |
| 2003 | 150,348 | 123,117 |
| 2004 | 164,059 | 128,507 |
| 2005 | 170,209 | 137,627 |
| 2006 | 178,208 | 141,175 |
| 2007 | 184,926 | 142,791 |
| 2008 | 184,413 | 144,023 |
| 2009 | 143,857 | 138,437 |
| 2010 | 123,498 | 125,808 |
| 2011 | 126,378 | 122,201 |
| 2012 | 123,427 | 130,911 |
| 2013 | 128,816 | 134,777 |
| 2014 | 139,973 | 138,553 |
| 2015 | 140,193 | 147,923 |
| 2016 | 145,657 | 149,023 |
| 2017 | 157,741 | 160,558 |
| 2018 | 175,008 | 179,303 |
| 2019 | 189,878 | 198,532 |
Source: EPI calculations from the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor’s data on investigators on board from 1979–2019, the AFL-CIO’s “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, 2021” data on Occupational Safety and Health Administration federal compliance inspectors from 1979-2019, and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data on the total number of employees covered by unemployment insurance programs in the U.S from 1979-2019.