USDL News Release: 97-86
Wednesday, March 12, 1997
Contact: Anne Bushman, (202) 219-7316

Acting Secretary of Labor Cynthia A. Metzler has issued the following statement, commenting on the results of today's report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on work-related injuries and illnesses in 1995. The report showed a drop in the rate of injury and illness cases for the third year in a row, most notably with the rate for construction falling below the manufacturing sector's rate for the second consecutive year.

"It is gratifying to once again report a decrease in both the total number and the rate of workplace injuries and illnesses. The 1995 figures show that efforts by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to improve the health and safety of American workers are achieving results.

"Most encouraging is the continued trend in construction, where the incidence rate has dropped from 13.1 injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in 1992 to 10.6 in 1995, a decrease of more than 19 percent in an industry that has historically been among the nation's most hazardous sectors.

"At the same time, the very fact that 6.6 million work-related injuries and illnesses were recorded in 1995 -- with more than three out of five illnesses associated with repeated trauma, or repetitive stress injuries -- indicates that a significant challenge still confronts us. We must continue to focus our efforts on the most serious threats to worker safety and health. I am confident that OSHA is ready and willing to take on this challenge, in cooperation with their partners in business and labor."