Private industry employers reported 2.6 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The figure is down 8.4% from 2022, the data showed, driven by a 56.6% drop in illnesses to 200,000 cases in 2023, the lowest number since 2019. The BLS said the illness decrease was attributed to a 72.6% fall in respiratory cases.

Other key BLS insights include:

  • In 2023, the incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRC) in the private industry was 2.4 cases per 100 fulltime equivalent (FTE) workers, down from 2.7 in 2022;
  • Injuries occurred at a rate of 2.2 cases per 100 FTE workers, down from 2.3 in 2022;
  • The incidence rate of illnesses decreased to 19 cases per 10,000 FTE workers, down from 45.2 in 2022;
  • Respiratory illnesses occurred at a rate of 9.5 cases per 10,000 FTE workers, down from 35.8 in 2022.
At the same time, there were 946,500 nonfatal injuries and illnesses involving days away from work (DAFW) in 2023, notching a 20.1% drop from 2022 and representing 62% of cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer (DART). Also in 2023, there were 581,000 cases involving days of job transfer or restriction (DJTR), which accounted for 38% of total DART cases, and occurred at a rate of 0.6 cases per 100 FTE workers.

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Joe Toppe

Joe Toppe serves as managing editor of PropertyCasualty360.com. Joe is also a father of three, an author, and longtime lover of baseball.

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