July 27, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Workdays lost to injury in
manufacturing
Workdays are lost by injured workers in one of two ways: days
completely off work and days of restricted activity at the job. In manufacturing, unlike
other industries, lost workdays are now evenly divided between the two.
[Chart data—TXT]
The overall rate of lost workday injuries and illnesses in manufacturing has fluctuated
around an average of 5.2 per 100,000 since 1976. However, the share accounted for by
restricted-activity days has increased from less than 1 in 10 in 1976 to 1 in 2 in 1997.
Virtually every major industry division shows the same pattern of a rise in the
restricted-activity case rate and a drop in the days-away-from-work case rate, but none of
the other industries displays such a complete convergence of the relative proportion of
cases. Factors that may have led to the broad trend toward restricted-activity cases
include more comprehensive reporting, improved safety programs that have reduced the
severity of injuries, and financial incentives to employers for encouraging employees to
return to work with limited duties.
These data are a product of the BLS Safety and Health Statistics
Program. More information is available from "The
changing composition of lost-workday injuries," by John W. Ruser, Monthly
Labor Review, June 1999.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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Read more »