The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its annual report on workplace injuries and illnesses for 2020.
Private industry employers reported 2.7 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2020, down from 2.8 million in 2019, a decrease of 5.7 percent. In 2020, the incidence rate of total recordable cases in private industry was 2.7 cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers.
The decline in injury and illness cases was due to a drop in injury cases, with private industry employers reporting 2.1 million nonfatal injuries in 2020, down from 2.7 million in 2019. At the same time, total reported illness cases more than quadrupled to 544,600 cases, up from 127,200 cases in 2019. This increase was driven by a nearly 4,000-percent increase in employer- reported respiratory illness cases in 2020 at 428,700, up from 10,800 in 2019.
For more information, visit www.bls.gov or call (202) 691-5902.
