August 18, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Hospitals have highest number of
occupational injuries
In 1996, hospitals reported the
highest number of nonfatal workplace injuries of any private-sector industry. There were
more than 330,000 occupational injury cases in private hospitals.
[Chart data—TXT]
Among other industries with the greatest number of
injuries, eating and drinking places had the second highest level, at 315,100 cases.
Nursing and personal care facilities experienced 226,300 cases of workplace injury, while
grocery stores had nearly as many—219,200 cases. Of the eight industries with the
most injuries, only one was in the manufacturing sector: motor vehicles and equipment
manufacturing.
The large number of injuries in each of these industries reflects in part the fact that
these industries employ large work forces. However, the incidence rate—the number of
injuries per 100 full-time workers—was above the private-sector average of 6.9 in all
of these industries except eating and drinking places. For example, in hospitals the
incidence rate was 11.0 cases per 100 full-time workers and in nursing and personal care
facilities, the rate was 16.5.
These data are a product of the BLS Safety and
Health Statistics Program. Additional information is available from Occupational
Injuries and Illnesses: Counts, Rates, and Characteristics, 1996 (BLS Bulletin 2512).
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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