December 03, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Lost-worktime injuries and illnesses by day of week, 2002

The 1.1 million cases of lost-worktime injuries and illnesses reported in 2002 that included data on the time of the incident were fairly evenly distributed from Monday through Friday.

Percent distribution of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work by day of week injury or illness occurred, 2002
[Chart data—TXT]

Among high incident occupations, truck drivers (includes heavy, tractor-trailer, and light or delivery truck drivers), janitors and cleaners, and carpenters had a greater proportion of injuries and illnesses on Mondays. 

In contrast, cooks and sales workers had a greater proportion of their injuries and illnesses on Thursdays and Fridays.

These data are from the BLS Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. Additional information is available from "Time of Lost-Workday Injuries and Illnesses, 2002: First Results Announced by BLS," (PDF) news release USDL 04-2407.

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