December 19, 2005—Approximately 4.3 million injuries and illnesses were reported in private industry workplaces during 2004, down from 4.4 million in 2003, according to the latest report by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The number translates to a rate of 4.8 cases per 100 full-time workers, slightly less than the 5.0 rate reported last year. Among the results:
- Goods-producing industries as a whole had an injury and illness rate of 6.5 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, down by 0.2 cases from the 2003 rates. Incidence rates ranged from 3.8 cases per 100 workers in mining to 6.6 cases in manufacturing.
- Service-providing industries as a whole had a rate of 4.2 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, down by 0.2 cases from the 2003 rates. Incidence rates ranged from 0.9 cases per 100 workers in the finance and insurance sector to 7.3 cases in transportation and warehousing.
- Among all private industry sectors, only the utilities sector experienced a significant increase in the injury and illness rate, rising from 4.4 cases per 100 in 2003 to 5.2 cases in 2004.
- For private industry in 2004, rates ranged from 1.9 cases per 100 workers for small establishments (those employing 1 to 10 workers) to 5.9 for midsize establishments (with 50 to 249 workers), relatively unchanged from 2003. Rates for establishments with 250 to 999 workers and for those with 1,000 or more both declined significantly in 2004 to 5.4 cases per 100, down from 5.8 and 5.7 cases, respectively, in 2003.
- Hospitals led the group of fourteen industries with the highest number of cases each year, followed by nursing and residential care facilities.
- Of the 4.3 million nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in 2004, approximately 4.0 million were injuries and about 249,000 were newly reported cases of occupational illnesses. “Hearing loss,” a newly separate illness category this year, accounted for more than 11 percent of all illnesses in 2004.
Some conditions (for example, long-term latent illnesses caused by exposure to carcinogens) often are difficult to relate to the workplace and are not adequately recognized and reported, says BLS. In contrast, the overwhelming majority of the reported new illnesses are easier to directly relate to workplace activity (for example, contact dermatitis or carpal tunnel syndrome).
This report (.pdf file) is the second of three releases from the BLS covering occupational safety and health statistics in 2004. The August release covered work-related fatalities. A third release in December will provide details on the more seriously injured and ill workers and on the circumstances of their injuries and illnesses.
