Dive Brief:
- Injuries and illnesses among manufacturing workers decreased 10% in 2023 to 355,800, according to data released Friday morning from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- The number of total injuries declined approximately 6% year over year, down to 326,400 from 347,800 in 2022, according to the agency’s estimates from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Respiratory illness — caused by exposure to hazard materials — saw a significant drop at 84%, from 22,100 cases to 3,400 cases YOY.
- For every 10,000 full-time manufacturing workers, there were 2.6 work injury cases in 2023, and 2.7 illnesses. Together, it pulled an average of .9 cases with days away from work, according to the agency.
Dive Insight:
The food manufacturing sector had a total of 61,400 injury and illness cases in 2023, at a rate of 3.6 cases per 100 full-time employee workers, down from 4.6 in 2022.
The injury and illness rates is the first of two reports the BLS will release regarding occupational safety and health statistics for 2023, according to the release. The agency plans to release its 2023 fatal work injury rates on Dec. 19.
While it will be a few weeks before the second report will be released, the Department of Labor said it’s encouraged by the decline in worker death investigations in the past year, according to a Nov. 4 release.
OSHA investigated 826 worker deaths in fiscal year 2024, which began Oct. 1, 2023 and ended Sept. 30, an 11% decline from fiscal year 2023. Excluding COVID-19 deaths, the percentage is the lowest worker fatality number OSHA was required to investigate since fiscal year 2017.
Despite the decrease in fatalities from hazards, more than 5,000 workers die in preventable incidents, Assistant Secretary for OSHA Douglas Parker said in the release.
“While we’re proud of this progress, our work is far from over,” Parker said in a statement. “Reducing worker deaths means embracing an approach that makes worker health and safety a core value in every workplace. Only then can we fully address all the causes and factors that lead to workers dying needlessly on the job.”
