BLS: Rate of injury-induced days away from work down; number of days up

Washington – The rate of nonfatal injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work dropped in 2012 from the previous year, but the median number of days away increased slightly, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In a Nov. 26 report, BLS stated that in 2012, 112 injury or illness cases were reported per 10,000 full-time private, state and local government workers requiring days away to recuperate, compared with 117 in 2011. Median days away from work increased to 9 in 2012 from 8 the year before. BLS considers median days away from work a “key measure” of injury and illness severity.

Among the report’s findings:

• Incidence rates in the private sector were 102 cases per 10,000 full-time workers in 2012, down from 105 the previous year.
• Incidence rates in local government were much higher than the private industry at 178 per 10,000 workers; this is a drop from 193 in 2011.
• Seven occupations had incidence rates greater than 375 cases per 10,000 workers: Transit and intercity bus drivers; police and sheriff’s patrol officers; correctional officers and jailers; firefighters; nursing assistants; laborers and freight, stock and material movers; and emergency medical technicians and paramedics.