The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently announced that the total number of reported nonfatal, occupational injury and illness cases that required days away from work to recuperate decreased by 9% in 2009 for private industry, state and local government.
BLS also reported that state and local government workers had much higher rates of injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work than workers in private industry. Half of state and local government employees work in states where public employees have no OSHA coverage. Among occupations, transit and intercity bus drivers, law enforcement officers, emergency response workers, and nursing aides and orderlies account for the highest occurrence among public employee occupations. However, OSHA officials also reported that musculoskeletal disorders continue for the second year in a row to comprise almost 30% of all workplace injuries and illnesses requiring time away from work.
OSHA officials acknowledged that economic conditions weighed heavily on the decline. Specifically, OSHA acknowledged that the decrease in employment and total hours worked, especially in construction and manufacturing, has led to fewer workers exposed to safety and health hazards in the workplace. Correspondingly, the annual EMPAQ (Employer Measure of Productivity, Absence and Quality) study of private industry employers indicates that there has also been a significant decline in both short (17.3%) and long-term (26%) disability claims as a result of the recession.