Washington, DC – The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that private industry employers reported 2.6 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2021, a decrease of 1.8 percent from 2020. In 2021, the incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRC) in private industry was 2.7 cases per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, unchanged from 2020. These estimates are from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII).
The decline in injury and illness cases was due to a drop in illness cases, with private industry employers reporting 365,200 nonfatal illnesses in 2021, down from 544,600 in 2020, a drop of 32.9 percent. This decrease was driven by a 37.1 percent decrease in employer reported respiratory illness cases in 2021 at 269,600, down from 428,700 in 2020. (See chart 2.) In 2019, there were 127,200 illness cases and 10,800 respiratory illness cases. Total reported injury cases increased by 6.3 percent to 2.2 million cases in 2021, up from 2.1 million cases in 2020. (See chart 1.)
The rate of injury cases increased in 2021, with private industry employers reporting a rate of 2.3 cases per 100 FTE workers compared to 2.2 cases in 2020. Over the same period, the rate of illness cases decreased from 55.9 cases per 10,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers to 37.7 cases. The decrease was driven by the drop in the respiratory illness rate, which fell from 44.0 cases per 10,000 FTE workers to 27.8 cases.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact in SOII Results
Occupational injuries and illnesses collected in the 2021 SOII include cases of COVID-19 when a worker was infected as a result of performing their work-related duties and met other recordkeeping criteria. COVID-19 is considered a respiratory illness under criteria established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Case and Demographic Data in the SOII
Estimates involving days away from work (DAFW) by detailed case characteristics and worker demographics for 2021 are not published in this release. In the Fall of 2023, SOII will begin biennial publication for DAFW and days of job transfer or restriction (DJTR) for the period 2021-2022. Estimates for detailed industry by case type are unchanged.
There were 1,062,700 nonfatal injuries and illnesses that caused a private industry worker to miss at least one day of work in 2021, 9.7 percent lower than in 2020. The rate of cases that caused a worker to miss at least one day of work also decreased in 2021, from 1.2 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2020 to 1.1 cases in 2021.
Injuries and Illnesses by Sector
Total recordable injury and illness cases increased in six private industry sectors in 2021. Retail trade and transportation and warehousing had the largest increases in cases. Retail trade increased from 341,100 cases in 2020 to 404,700 cases in 2021. Transportation and warehousing increased from 206,900 cases in 2020 to 253,100 cases in 2021. Health care and social assistance was the only private industry sector that had a decrease in the total number of cases in 2021, decreasing 183,200 cases to 623,000 in 2021. (See chart 3.) This was driven by a 163,600 decrease in the number of respiratory illness cases in 2021, decreasing to 145,300 respiratory illness cases in this sector. In 2019, there were 3,500 respiratory illness cases in the private industry health care and social assistance sector.
Despite having a decrease in cases, the health care and social assistance sector had the highest rate of respiratory illnesses in 2021 with 99.2 cases per 10,000 FTE workers. This rate, however, is 52.7 percent lower than in 2020 when the rate was 209.8 cases per 10,000 FTE workers. Retail trade had the next highest rate of respiratory illnesses at 37.5 cases per 10,000 FTE workers, a 91.0 percent increase from 2020 when the incidence rate was 19.6 cases. (See chart 4.) These two sectors accounted for 69.5 percent of the 269,600 total respiratory illness cases.
The incidence rate of respiratory illnesses in the private educational services sector increased from 5.5 cases per 10,000 FTE workers in 2020 to 13.5 cases in 2021, a 144.9 percent increase.
Health Care and Social Assistance
Among health care and social assistance industries, three industries had decreases in DAFW rates in 2021: hospitals at 2.3 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2021 (down from 3.7 cases in 2020), nursing and residential care facilities at 4.0 cases (down from 7.9 cases), and ambulatory health care services at 1.1 cases (down from 1.2 cases). In 2021, the DAFW rate for social assistance was essentially unchanged. (See chart 5.)
Additional Highlights
- The incidence rate of cases in the private retail trade sector increased from 3.1 in 2020 to 3.6 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2021, an increase of 15.6 percent.
- The DAFW rate in private industry food manufacturing decreased from 2.5 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2020 to 2.1 cases in 2021, a decrease of 15.1 percent.
- In 2021, private industry DAFW cases in the transportation and warehousing sector increased 23.0 percent to 122,700 cases from 99,800 cases in 2020.
- The number of DJTR cases in the private construction sector increased 10.4 percent in 2021 to 35,200 cases.
- The private leisure and hospitality supersector had 235,300 total recordable cases in 2021, which occurred at a rate of 2.9 cases per 100 FTE workers. This rate is higher than in 2020 (2.7 cases per 100 FTE workers).
- Other recordable cases in the private industry wholesale trade sector increased 12.1 percent in 2021 to 40,400 cases.
View the full report release: BLS: Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses – 2021
View the charts on the BLS site: BLS: Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses – 2021 – Charts
Source: BLS