Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features CWCI’s release of results of its review of data from the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), which found that in 2023, California accounted for 11.9% of all jobs covered by workers’ comp in the US in 2023, and 14.3% of covered payroll, while it accounted for 21.7% of all workers’ comp benefits paid to injured workers.
CWCI noted that California’s share of total U.S. benefit payments grew from 21.0% in 2022 to 21.7% in 2023 despite a significant slowdown in employment growth in the state. However, covered employment remained 2.2% above the state’s 2019 pre-pandemic level. Additionally the analysis notes that California’s $13.88 billion in benefit payments were more than the combined total for New York, Florida, and Washington, which ranked second, third, and fourth in terms of total benefits, and was nearly four times the $3.52 billion paid under federal programs.