Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ release of the 2021 edition of its Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Report.
The BLS noted that private industry employers reported 2.6 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2021, a decrease of 1.8% from 2020. 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%. Employer reported respiratory illness cases in 2021 decreased 37.1% to 269,600, down from 428,700 in 2020. For context, in 2019 there were 127,200 illness cases and 10,800 respiratory illness cases. 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.