As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, there are several workers’ compensation trends that employers need to be paying attention to protect their employees and bottom line. Perhaps the one trend having the most impact on workplace injury claims is the hiring of inexperienced workers. The number of workplace incidents increased in 2019, although the incident rate remained unchanged–meaning that that were more injuries that occurred and more employees in the workforce as well.
Notably, the incidence rates for the top 10 occupations with the highest incident rates were higher in 2019 than in 2018 (although, the overall incident rate remained unchanged). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), while the total number of injuries per 100 full-time workers remained unchanged at 2.8 for 2019 (the latest year figures were available), there was a two percent rise in total worker deaths – 5,333 fatal workplace injuries in 2019 compared to 5,250 in 2018. This is the highest number of workplace deaths since 2007. One driver of this increase was number of deaths caused by slips and falls which grew by 11 percent from 2018 to 2019.
While a goal of zero fatalities nationally may be an almost impossible goal to reach, workplace deaths should never be the cost of doing business. Employers need a systematic approach to safety that includes having written policies communicated and enforced, and training and risk assessment techniques in place to address major causes of fatalities and injuries. Positive leadership sets the tone from the top and proactively engages all workers in safety, identifying hazards and measuring safety performance to continuously improve.
Occupations with the Most Job-Related Injuries and Illnesses
The BLS’s most recent workplace injury statistics indicate that the following occupations had the highest incidence rates per 10,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers. Notably, the incidence rates for all 10 occupations were higher in 2019 than in 2018 (although, as noted above, the overall incident rate remained unchanged). The occupations with the highest incidence rates of workplace injuries in 2019 were:
- Nursing assistants (approximately 370 incidents per 10,000 FTE)
- Heavy truck and tractor-trailer truck drivers (approximately 360 incidents per 10,000 FTE)
- Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers (approximately 350 incidents per 10,000 FTE)
- Light truck drivers (approximately 340 incidents per 10,000 FTE)
- Construction laborers (approximately 250 incidents per 10,000 FTE)
- Maintenance and repair workers (approximately 210 incidents per 10,000 FTE)
- Stockers and order fillers (approximately 150 incidents per 10,000 FTE)
- Janitors and cleaners (approximately 120 incidents per 10,000 FTE)
- Registered nurses (approximately 105 incidents per 10,000 FTE)
- Retail salespersons (approximately 60 incidents per 10,000 FTE)
States with the Most Job-Related Injuries and Illnesses
According to BLS, 22 states had a rate of non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses that was significantly above the national average. Seven states, including Alabama, had rates that were not significantly different from the national average, and 12 states (and Washington D.C.) had rates that were significantly lower than the national average (the rates for the remaining nine states were unavailable).