FACTS

There are three basic classes of information obtainable by means of accident recording:

1. Information identifying where the accidents occur – that is, sectors, trades, work processes and so on. This knowledge can be used to determine where preventive action is needed.
2. Information showing how the accidents occur, the situations in which they occur and the ways in which the injuries come about. This knowledge can be used to determine the type of preventive action needed.
3. Information relating to the nature and seriousness of the injuries, describing, for example, the parts of the body affected and the health consequences of the injuries. Such knowledge is to be used for prioritizing preventive action in order to ensure that action is taken where the risk is highest.

STATS

• Private industry employers reported 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2019, unchanged from 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These estimates are from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII).
• In 2019, the incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRC) in private industry was 2.8 cases per 100 fulltime equivalent (FTE) workers, which was the rate reported in 2018 and 2017. The incidence rate of days away from work (DAFW) cases was 0.9 cases per 100 FTE workers and the incidence rate of days of job transfer and restriction only (DJTR) cases was 0.7 cases per 100 FTE workers, which were the rates reported in 2018.
• There were 888,220 nonfatal injuries and illnesses that caused a private industry worker to miss at least one day of work in 2019, essentially unchanged from 2018.
• 5,333 workers died on the job in 2019 (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.
• In order from the most job-related injuries to least, BLS’s workplace injury statistics for 2019 indicated that the 10 most-dangerous occupations for workers (excluding fatal injuries) in the prior year were as follows:
• Health care and social assistance (544,800 workplace injuries and 32,700 workplace illnesses)
• Retail trade (401,100 workplace injuries and 8,800 workplace illnesses)
• Manufacturing (395,300 workplace injuries and 35,000 workplace illnesses)
• Accommodation and food services (271,000 workplace injuries and 7,600 workplace illnesses)
• Transportation and warehousing (213,100 workplace injuries and 8,300 workplace illnesses)
• Construction (195,600 workplace injuries and 3,600 workplace illnesses)
• Wholesale trade (157,100 workplace injuries and 3,700 workplace illnesses)
• Administrative and waste services (112,800 workplace injuries and 5,800 workplace illnesses)
• Other services (except public administration) (70,800 workplace injuries and 1,900 workplace illnesses)
• Professional and technical services (66,100 workplace injuries and 4,400 workplace illnesses).