January 02, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Incidence of injuries with days away from work edged down in 2000

At 1.8 cases per 100 workers in 2000, the rate for workplace injury and illness cases with days away from work had declined from 1.9 in 1999 and was the lowest on record.

[Chart data—TXT]

In 1990, the incidence rate of cases with days away from work was 3.4 cases per 100 workers; this rate has dropped 47 percent in the past 10 years, with at least some decline registered in every year.

Most cases of occupational injuries and illnesses do not involve days away from work. Of the 5.7 million total injuries and illnesses reported in 2000, about 2.8 million were lost workday cases, that is, they required recuperation away from work or restricted duties at work, or both. The remaining 2.9 million were cases without lost workdays.

The BLS Safety and Health Statistics program produced these data. The figures in this article pertain to injuries and illnesses in private industry workplaces. Find more information on occupational injuries and illnesses in 2000 in "Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2000", news release USDL 01-472.