BLS: Nonfatal Injuries and Illnesses Requiring Days Away Decreased in 2013

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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has announced that the overall incidence rate of nonfatal occupational injury and illness cases requiring days away from work decreased in 2013. The rate dropped by 2.2 cases per 10,000, from 111.8 in 2012 to 109.4 in 2013. This is a drop of nearly 2%.

BLS also reports “in 2013, there were 1,162,210 days-away-from-work cases in private industry, state government, and local government, essentially the same number of reported injuries and illnesses as in 2012. The median days away from work to recuperate—a key measure of severity of injuries and illnesses—was 8 days in 2013, one fewer than reported in 2012.”

Key findings include:

• The private sector rate for days-away-from-work cases was 99.9 cases per 10,000 full-time workers and was not statistically different from 101.9 in 2012. 
• Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 4% of the cases in the private sector in 2013, with a rate of 4.2 cases per 10,000 full-time workers. 
• Musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 33% of all injury and illness cases in 2013. Nursing assistants, and laborers and freight, stock and material movers incurred the highest number of such cases in 2013. 

Additional takeaways and data are available on the BLS website.