OSHA Inspector Ranks Fell Sharply Before Projected 2026 Increase, Agency Says
•February 18, 2026
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Why It Matters
Reduced inspector headcount limits routine oversight, raising compliance risk for employers, while the anticipated staffing boost aims to restore enforcement capacity and address high‑risk hazards like falls.
Key Takeaways
- •Federal OSHA inspectors fell 22% from FY2024 to 2025.
- •Projected 2026 staff includes state‑plan inspectors, totaling ~1,720.
- •Focus shifts to high‑hazard sites and fall protection enforcement.
- •13,000 fall violations corrected under 2023 national emphasis program.
- •Employers must maintain safety systems despite inspector shortages.
Pulse Analysis
The recent contraction in OSHA’s federal inspection force reflects broader budgetary pressures and shifting policy priorities. Between fiscal 2024 and 2025, the agency shed roughly 22 percent of its compliance officers, a decline that narrows its ability to conduct routine, unannounced site visits. While the projected 2026 headcount of about 1,720 inspectors—augmented by state‑plan personnel—promises a broader enforcement footprint, the interim period forces OSHA to prioritize high‑hazard environments, especially those prone to fall incidents, which continue to dominate workplace injury statistics.
For businesses, the staffing dip underscores the importance of robust internal safety programs. With fewer external eyes, OSHA’s enforcement strategy leans toward targeted inspections that can generate multiple citations from a single visit, amplifying financial and reputational stakes. Companies in construction and general industry must therefore double down on fall‑protection training, hazard identification, and documentation to mitigate the risk of costly abatement orders. Legal counsel advises that proactive compliance assistance, rather than reactive remediation, offers a more sustainable path to managing OSHA-related liabilities.
Looking ahead, the 2026 staffing increase and the ongoing national emphasis on fall hazards signal a renewed regulatory focus on high‑impact safety outcomes. Employers that embed a culture of continuous improvement—leveraging OSHA’s outreach resources and aligning internal controls with evolving standards—will be better positioned to navigate the agency’s balanced approach of enforcement and partnership. In this environment, safety is not merely a compliance checkbox but a strategic asset that can protect workers, preserve brand integrity, and reduce long‑term operational costs.
OSHA inspector ranks fell sharply before projected 2026 increase, agency says
The number of workplace safety inspectors with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration dropped markedly over the past year, before an anticipated staffing increase in 2026 that includes federal staff and personnel working under state plans, according to agency data.
OSHA reported 629 federal compliance safety and health officers as of Sept. 30, 2025, down from 812 at the end of fiscal 2024. The agency listed 878 such officers at the end of fiscal 2023, 892 at the end of fiscal 2022 and 750 at the end of fiscal 2021, according to data provided by an OSHA spokeswoman in response to a Jan. 29 report by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General.
The report, which highlighted problems with OSHA’s decline in worksite investigators, cited a decrease in federal inspectors from February 2024 to June 2025, followed by an anticipated increase in 2026 to approximately 1,720 inspectors covering about 144 million workers.
The 2026 projection reflects the agency’s overall enforcement footprint and includes inspectors in state-plan programs, not just federal staff, the OSHA spokeswoman wrote.
“OSHA seeks to focus its inspection resources on the most hazardous workplaces, and we continue to look for ways to work efficiently and help employers with compliance assistance, while fully maintaining our enforcement responsibilities,” she wrote.
Staffing levels can shape how quickly the agency responds and how it allocates inspection activity, even as employers’ underlying exposure persists, said two lawyers who represent employers in OSHA matters.
The steep decline in federal inspectors underscores the practical constraints OSHA faces, said Eric Conn, a founding partner of law firm Conn Maciel Carey.
“When staffing is down, the agency has to make choices about where to deploy limited resources,” said Mr. Conn, who is based in Washington. “That can mean a greater focus on the most serious events — fatalities, catastrophes and complaints — while other programmed activity may be harder to sustain.”
Employers should not read fewer inspectors as a reason to relax safety efforts, said Andrew Brought, a Kansas City, Missouri-based partner with law firm Spencer Fane.
“Even with fewer inspectors, OSHA still has the ability to open significant cases, and enforcement can be highly targeted,” Mr. Brought said. “One inspection can lead to multiple citations, repeat classifications and costly abatement obligations.”
Falls remain a “priority” as OSHA balances enforcement and prevention efforts, the spokeswoman wrote. Falls continue to be a leading cause of fatalities and serious injuries, and OSHA launched a national emphasis program in 2023 to identify and reduce fall hazards for work at heights.
That program remains in effect, and the OSHA spokeswoman wrote that it “uncovered and worked to ensure correction of nearly 13,000 violations in fiscal year 2025” as part of a multipronged approach that includes enforcement, outreach and training.
Fall protection enforcement is a persistent theme for employers in construction and general industry, Mr. Brought said. “It’s an area where OSHA has longstanding standards, clear expectations and a track record of citations,” he said.
OSHA’s inspector headcount should not distract from day-to-day risk controls, Mr. Conn said. “From a business standpoint, the better question is whether employers have the systems in place — training, documentation, hazard identification — to prevent serious incidents,” he said.
OSHA, for its part, framed its goals around results rather than staffing totals.
“OSHA is committed to keeping workers safe by taking a balanced approach — valuing partnerships and compliance assistance as important strategies alongside traditional enforcement,” the spokeswoman wrote.
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