December 21, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Injuries and illnesses in goods-producing and service-producing industries in 1999

The incidence rate for injuries and illnesses in goods-producing industries continued a downward trend this past year, from 9.3 per 100 full-time workers in 1998 to 8.9 in 1999.

[Chart data—TXT]

The incidence rate in service-producing industries dropped from 5.6 per 100 full-time workers in 1998 to 5.3 in 1999. Since 1994, the incidence rate in goods-producing industries has declined by 25 percent, while the rate in service-producing industries has fallen 23 percent.

Among goods-producing industries, manufacturing had the highest incidence rate in 1999—9.2 cases per 100 full-time workers. Within the service-producing sector, the highest incidence rate was reported for transportation and public utilities—7.3 cases per 100 full-time workers.

The BLS Safety and Health Statistics Program produced these data. Find more information on occupational injuries and illnesses in 1999 in "Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 1999," news release USDL 00-357.