December 22, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Workplace injuries by industry, 2002

Of the 4.7 million nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in 2002, 4.4 million were injuries.

Percent of nonfatal workplace injuries by industry division, 2002
[Chart data—TXT]

The services and trade divisions had the largest shares of injury cases, about 27 percent each. They were followed by manufacturing with just over 23 percent. 

The on-the-job injury rate was of 5.0 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers in private industry in 2002. The construction industry had the highest rate, 6.9 cases per 100 full-time workers. Finance, insurance, and real estate had the lowest rate, 1.5 cases per 100 full-time workers.

The BLS Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities Program produced these data. Find more information on occupational injuries and illnesses in 2002 in "Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2002" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03-913.

Happy 10th Birthday, TED!

The very first issue of The Editor's Desk (TED) was posted on September 28, 1998. TED was the first online-only publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For 10 years, BLS has been committed to posting a new TED article each business day, for a total of over 2,400 articles so far.

Find out more about the story of TED