3 Million Annual Injuries / Illnesses in Private Sector

For the first time in a decade, the rate of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in private industry was unchanged from previous to current years. Nearly 3 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported by private industry employers in 2011, resulting in an incidence rate of 3.5 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, according to estimates from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Other Key Findings:

• Rate of injuries and illnesses requiring days off work: 1.17 per 100 full-time workers
• Median days away from work: 8 (same as 2010)
• Top 5 occupations for days-off-work cases: laborers; nursing aides, orderlies and attendants; janitors and cleaners; heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers; and police / sheriff officers
• Top age group for injury and illness: 45-54 (26 percent of total cases in 2011)
• Top injury: Musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 33 percent (387,820) of all cases in 2011

Read more on the BLS survey here.
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