Last November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual report on non-fatal workplace accidents, injuries and illnesses for 2013. There are some interesting findings that could carry over into the numbers fir 2013. A summary of the findings follows.
- Overall, work-related illnesses and injuries (non-fatal) are down slightly. In 2011 there were 3.5 incidents per 100 workers; in 2013, there were 3.4.
- It’s more dangerous to work in the public sector than in the private sector. If you worked for state or local government, your chances of suffering an injury were around 65 percent greater.
- The safest places to work were small businesses and large companies. Medium sized businesses were the most dangerous.
- It is riskier to work in air transportation than in rail transportation.
- If you work in construction, it is more dangerous to work on public projects for state and local governments than to work for private companies.
- It is more much more dangerous for health care workers to work in publicly-funded nursing homes and care facilities than for them to take jobs in private nursing centers. Working for state-run nursing centers had a rate of 13.6 incidents of injury per 100 workers, whereas private nursing centers had a rate of 7.6 per 100 workers.
- For New York State overall, the non-fatal injury and illness rate is below average, with 2.5 incidents per 100 workers across all sectors. Surprisingly, Maine had the highest rate of non-fatal injury and illness in 2012.
This is good news for workers in New York State, as their chances of getting hurt on the job are less than in many other states. However, thousands of workers are still injured or made ill every year in the construction, manufacturing and other high-risk industry sectors.
Source: Business Insider, “The American Workplace Is Getting Safer,” Nov. 7, 2013.