August 18, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Hospitals have highest number of occupational injuries

In 1996, hospitals reported the highest number of nonfatal workplace injuries of any private-sector industry. There were more than 330,000 occupational injury cases in private hospitals.

[Chart data—TXT]

Among other industries with the greatest number of injuries, eating and drinking places had the second highest level, at 315,100 cases. Nursing and personal care facilities experienced 226,300 cases of workplace injury, while grocery stores had nearly as many—219,200 cases. Of the eight industries with the most injuries, only one was in the manufacturing sector: motor vehicles and equipment manufacturing.

The large number of injuries in each of these industries reflects in part the fact that these industries employ large work forces. However, the incidence rate—the number of injuries per 100 full-time workers—was above the private-sector average of 6.9 in all of these industries except eating and drinking places. For example, in hospitals the incidence rate was 11.0 cases per 100 full-time workers and in nursing and personal care facilities, the rate was 16.5.

These data are a product of the BLS Safety and Health Statistics Program. Additional information is available from Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Counts, Rates, and Characteristics, 1996 (BLS Bulletin 2512).