NIOSH Program Portfolio : Wholesale and Retail Trade : Occupational Risks

NIOSH Programs > Wholesale and Retail Trade > Occupational Risks

Wholesale and Retail Trade

Inputs: Occupational Safety and Health Risks

More than 20 million workers in wholesale and retail trade are at risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries. In 2005, approximately 827,400 workers were injured at work in performing their jobs. Approximately 56% were severe enough to require days away from work, job transfer, or restriction. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data also suggests that the overall number of injuries and fatalities may be attributed to a subset or subsector of high risk workplaces, such as mail order, home stores, or gasoline stations, etc. Young workers make up a significant part of the workforce in the Wholesale and Retail Trade sector. Overall, workers aged 16-19 have twice the injury rate of workers of all ages.

The BLS publishes detailed information about occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities for all industry sectors.

Fatalities

In 2006, there were 568 fatalities in the Wholesale and Retail Trade sector. A large number of the fatalities occurred in retail motor vehicle and parts dealers, food and beverage stores, and gasoline stations, jobs which employ young and often inexperienced workers.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2006
External Link: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.nr0.htm

*Fatal occupational injuries by private industry† and selected event or exposure, 2004**
Wholesale and Retail Trade	*Fatalities*		*Selected event or exposure §*
Wholesale and Retail Trade	Number	Percent **	Highway ‡	Homicides	Falls	Struck by object
Wholesale trade	217	4	36	2	11	15
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	107	2	29	4	7	26
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	102	2	43	-	15	5
Retail trade	351	6	21	39	9	5
Motor vehicle and parts dealers	69	1	42	9	6	9
Building material and garden supply stores	40	1	20	10	22	18
Food and beverage stores	79	1	4	75	8	-
Gasoline stations	51	1	10	76	-	-
General merchandise stores	25	§§	20	28	20	-
Miscellaneous store retailers	21	§§	29	24	-	-

* Totals include data for industries not shown separately.

† Based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2002.

§ The figure shown is the percent of the total fatalities for that industry group.

** The figure shown is the percent of total occupational fatalities.

‡ "Highway" includes deaths to vehicle occupants resulting from traffic incidents that occur on the public roadway, shoulder, or surrounding area. It excludes incidents occurring entirely off the roadway, such as in parking lots and on farms; incidents involving trains; and deaths to pedestrians or other nonpassengers.

§§ Less than or equal to 0.5 percent.

Source: Fatal occupational injuries by industry and selected event or exposure, 2006
External Link: External Link: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.t02.htm

Additional BLS occupational fatality information can be found in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
External Link: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.toc.htm

Nonfatal injuries and illnesses

Wholesale and Retail Trade

While the incidence rates for both of these industry sectors remained relatively unchanged in 2005, the rate for retail trade (4.9 cases per 100 full- time workers) was significantly higher than the rate of 4.5 cases for wholesale trade and the rate of 4.4 cases for private industry as a whole. All industries in North America are classified by NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). Within wholesale trade, metal and mineral (except petroleum) merchant wholesalers [NAICS 4235], grocery and related product merchant wholesalers [NAICS 4244], and beer, wine, and distilled alcoholic beverage merchant wholesalers had the highest incidence rate of injuries per 100 full-time workers with 7.5, 7.7, and 9.6, respectively. Within retail trade, building material and supplies dealers [NAICS 4441] had a rate of 7.8 per 100 full-time workers and home centers [NAICS 44411] with the highest rate at 9.2 per 100 full-time workers. The Other General Merchandise Stores [NAICS 4529] sector in retail trade had a rate of 7.0 per 100 full-time workers and Warehouse Clubs and Superstores [NAICS 45291] sector had a rate of 7.3 per 100 full-time workers.

Source: BLS Workplace Injury and Illness Summary
External link: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/osh.nr0.htm

For detailed data on nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the Wholesale and Retail Trade sector, see Industry Injury and Illness Data
External link: http://stats.bls.gov/iif/oshsum.htm

Additional BLS data on Case and Demographic Characteristics for Work-related Injuries and Illnesses Involving Days Away From Work
External Link: http://stats.bls.gov/iif/oshcdnew.htm

NIOSH Worker Health Chartbook, 2004
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2004-146
The Worker Health Chartbook, 2004 is a descriptive epidemiologic reference on occupational morbidity and mortality in the United States. A resource for agencies, organizations, employers, researchers, workers, and others who need to know about occupational injuries and illnesses, the Chartbook includes more than 400 figures and tables describing the magnitude, distribution, and trends of the Nation's occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.

NOTE: Data presented in this document are based on the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), which does not correspond directly with the 2002 NAICS. Convert 1987 SIC codes to 2002 NAICS codes using Correspondence Tables: 1987 SIC Matched to 2002 NAICS
External link: http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/S87TON02.HTM

Worker Health Chartbook, 2004 search results for figures and tables related to Wholesale Trade

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Wholesale and Retail Trade

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