Workplace injuries drop 8%
November 10, 2009 by Fred HosierPosted in: Illnesses, In this week's e-newsletter, Injuries, Latest News & Views, New safety statistics, OSHA news
PDF Nonfatal workplace injuries among private industry employers in 2008 fell 8% from the previous year.
Injuries and illnesses occurred at a rate of 3.9 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers. The 2007 rate was 4.2, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
There were 3.7 million total nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2008 compared to 4 million in 2007.
Occupational injuries and illnesses have declined significantly each year since 2003.
The injury and illness rate was highest among mid-size companies with 50 to 249 employees, and lowest among small companies with fewer than 11 workers.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said she was “cautiously optimistic” about the injury rates. But she also noted that OSHA has launched a National Emphasis Program on Recordkeeping that will help assure the accuracy of injury and illness data reported by employers.
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Tags: Hilda Solis, injury and illness rate, workplace injuries drop
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November 10th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
With all of the recent layoffs and downsizing, is this really a suprise? Just like when gas prices soared aboved $3 a gallon, deaths on our roadways decreased…
November 17th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Put this data up against how many people were employed during this time compared to the previous year, then we’d know whether private industry was any safer. As Jason B said, it’s no surprise the the actual number of accidents in the workplace dropped because the actual number of employees in the workplace dropped as well.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Safety is totally in the hands of the empollies. Corases,meetings,written polices in safety is a common practices. So many times empollies can quote them but to make the transition from knowing to following safety for their safety and those around them seems almost impossible. The number of workers isn’t the cause of decrease in safety failures but their safety culture is.