December 28, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Eighth consecutive drop in incidence of days away from work due to workplace injuries and illnesses

In 1998, the incidence rate for cases of on-the-job injuries and illnesses involving days away from work was 2.0 cases per 100 full-time workers, down slightly from 2.1 in 1997. The drop marked the eighth year in a row that this incidence rate fell.

[Chart data—TXT]

The incidence rate of cases with days away from work was 3.4 cases per 100 full-time workers in 1990, so the rate has dropped by 41 percent in eight years. The rate for 1998 was the lowest on record.

Note that most cases of occupational injuries and illnesses in 1998 did not involve days away from work. Of the 5.9 million cases of workplace injuries and illnesses last year, 1.7 million involved one or more days away from work.

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 1998 in Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 1998, news release USDL 99-358.