March 31, 2003—The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released further Lost Workday Injury and Illness data from 2001 adding detail to an earlier announcement that overall workplace injuries and illnesses requiring time away from work have continued their steady decline for the tenth consecutive year.
The detailed information that the BLI has collected will reportedly help the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) better target outreach and enforcement efforts in those industries that have more work to do to bring their injury and illness rates down.
US Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao commented about the release: “I am pleased to see that the number of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) injuries and illnesses that resulted in days away from work showed a significant decline of 9.6 percent, greater than the overall decline of 7.6 percent for all lost workday injuries.
“However, truck drivers, laborers, nurses and nursing aides, and other employees continue to suffer high rates of injuries and illnesses in their workplaces. We must find ways to reduce the hazards that these workers experience and make their workplaces safer and healthier.
“While we have recorded some successes in our fight to drive down injury and illness rates, we still have much to do. There are too many hardworking people who are injured on the job every day. Our goal is to continue and accelerate this decline so that workers can count on going to safe, healthful, hazard-free workplaces every day.”
