October 21, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Rate of occupational injuries and illnesses in construction drops by 38 percent in 1976-97

The overall incidence rate of occupational injuries and illnesses in the construction industry has declined 38 percent over the past two decades, from 15.3 cases per 100 workers in 1976 to 9.5 in 1997.

[Chart data—TXT]

For the most serious type of cases (those involving days away from work), the 1997 incidence rate in construction was 3.6 cases per 100 workers, down 33 percent from 1976. For the least severe cases (those without lost workdays), the rate for construction was 5.0 cases per 100 full-time workers, down 49 percent from 1976.

Those cases involving restricted work activity only (in between the most and least severe) were the only case type to show an increase in incidence from 1976 to 1997. In construction, the rate for such cases in 1997 was 0.8 case per 100 workers, up from 0.1 in 1976.

These data are a product of the BLS Safety and Health Statistics program. Additional information is available from "Work-related Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities in Manufacturing and Construction" (PDF 53K), by Timothy Webster, Compensation and Working Conditions, Fall 1999.