Workplace Injury and Illness Summary

Technical information: (202) 691-6170                           USDL 07-1562	
Media information: (202) 691-5902                               For release: 10 A.M. EDT
Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/iif/home.htm               Tuesday, October 16, 2007

                                    WORKPLACE INJURIES AND ILLNESSES IN 2006

      Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry employers in 2006 
occurred at a rate of 4.4 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers—a decline from 4.6 cases in 
2005.  (See table 1 and chart 1.)  Similarly, the number of nonfatal occupational injuries and 
illnesses reported in 2006 declined to 4.1 million cases, compared to 4.2 million cases in 2005.  
(See table 2.) These findings were reported today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the 
U.S. Department of Labor.
      
Key findings of the 2006 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII)

  * The total recordable case (TRC) injury and illness incidence rate among private industry 
    employers in 2006 was the lowest since the SOII was first conducted in 1972.
  * Incidence rates and numbers of cases for injuries and illnesses combined declined 
    significantly in 2006 for most case types, with the exception of cases involving job 
    transfer or restriction only.
  * The number and incidence rate of injuries both declined significantly in 2006 compared 
    to 2005—three percent and five percent, respectively.
  * The number and incidence rate of illnesses declined significantly in 2006 compared to 
    2005—mainly the result of declines among hearing loss and all other illness categories. 
  * Estimates were tabulated for more than 70 additional industries in 2006 for which 
    estimates were not previously available (see table A); industries are classified according 
    to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). 
  * TRC rates declined among 9 of the 19 private industry NAICS sectors in 2006 and 
    remained statistically unchanged in the remaining 10 NAICS sectors. 
  * The total recordable case injury and illness incidence rate was highest among mid-size 
    establishments (those employing between 50 and 249 workers) and lowest among small 
    establishments (those employing fewer than 11 workers) compared to establishments of 
    other sizes. 
  * TRC rates in 10 of 43 States (including the District of Columbia) for which SOII 
    estimates are available were lower in 2006 compared to a year earlier; TRC rates in 32 
    States remained relatively unchanged; and the TRC rate in 1 State was higher in 2006.   

(Chart 1 appears here in the printed release.)

      
      The rate decline for nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry 
employers in 2006 resulted from a two percent increase in the number of hours worked and a 
three percent decrease in the number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses.  Similarly, for goods-
producing industries as a whole and for service-providing industries as a whole the number of 
hours worked rose two percent while the number of cases declined three percent.  This resulted 
in rate declines for total recordable injuries and illnesses in both of these industries in 2006—
falling 0.3 cases and 0.2 cases per 100 full-time workers, respectively, compared to rates 
reported in 2005.  Goods-producing industries as a whole reported a higher incidence of injuries 
and illnesses than did service-providing industries—5.9 versus 3.9 cases per 100 equivalent full-
time workers, respectively.   
      
      Mining experienced the lowest incidence rate in 2006 among goods-producing industry 
sectors—3.5 cases per 100 full-time workers.  In comparison, while higher than the rate for 
mining, rates for agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (6.0 cases), construction (5.9 cases), 
and manufacturing (6.0 cases) were not significantly different from one another.  (See table 1.)  
Although the rate for the transportation and warehousing sector fell by one-half case in 2006, this 
sector reported the highest rate among service-providing industry sectors—6.5 cases per 100 
full-time workers.  Rates among the remaining service-providing sectors ranged from 0.9 cases 
in finance and insurance to 5.8 cases per 100 full-time workers in health care and social 
assistance. 
      
      Small establishments (those employing 1 to 10 workers) reported the lowest rate for 
injuries and illnesses combined (1.9 cases per 100 full-time workers), while mid-size 
establishments (those employing 50 to 249 workers) reported the highest rate (5.5 cases per 100 
full-time workers).  (See table 3.)  While the incidence rate remained relatively unchanged for 
small establishments employing fewer than 11 workers, the rates for establishments in all other 
size classes declined significantly in 2006 compared to 2005. 
      
      Fourteen industries, each having at least 100,000 injuries and illnesses combined, 
accounted for more than 1.8 million cases (45 percent) of the 4.1 million total.  (See table 4.)  
General medical and surgical hospitals (NAICS 6221) reported more injuries and illnesses than 
any other industry in 2006—more than 264,300 cases.    
        
      Approximately 2.1 million injuries and illnesses were cases with days away from work, 
job transfer, or restriction; that is, they required recuperation away from work, transfer to another 
job, restricted duties at work, or a combination of these actions.  The remaining 2.0 million 
injuries and illnesses were other recordable cases that did not result in time away from work.  
(See table 2.)  The incidence rate for cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction 
was 2.3 cases per 100 workers, and the rate for other recordable cases was 2.1.  Both of these 
rates decreased in 2006 by 0.1 case per 100 equivalent full-time workers compared to 2005.  
      
      Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction comprise two case types—
those requiring at least one day away from work, with or without job transfer or restriction, and 
those requiring only job transfer or restriction.  Cases with job transfer or restriction may involve 
shortened work hours, a temporary job change, or temporary restrictions on a worker’s regular 
duties; for example, no heavy lifting.  Separately, the rate for cases with days away from work 
was 1.3 cases per 100 workers (down from 1.4 cases in 2005) and the rate for cases with job 
transfer or restriction was 1.0 case per 100 workers (unchanged from 2005).  The rate in 
manufacturing for cases with job transfer or restriction (1.9) was higher than the rate for days-
away-from-work cases (1.4).  This is the ninth consecutive year in which this has been the case 
in manufacturing.  (See chart 2.)  Among the remaining industry sectors included in this chart, 
the rate for cases with days away from work was higher than the rate for cases with job transfer 
or restriction, with the exception of wholesale trade; management of companies and enterprises; 
and arts, entertainment, and recreation in which these rates were not significantly different from 
one another.
       
(Chart 2 appears here in the printed release.) 

Injuries and Illnesses

      Injuries.  Of the 4.1 million nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in 2006, 
approximately 3.9 million (94.4 percent) were injuries.  Of these 3.9 million injuries, 2.6 million 
(67.6 percent) occurred in service-providing industries which employed 79 percent of the private 
sector workforce covered by this survey.  The remaining 1.3 million injuries (32.4 percent) 
occurred in goods-producing industries, which accounted for 21 percent of private sector 
employment.  (Employment data are derived primarily from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.)  The largest shares of injuries were in the 
manufacturing sector (20.1 percent), the health care and social assistance sector (16.3 percent), 
and the retail trade sector (14.8 percent).  (See table 5 and charts 3 and 4.)

(Chart 3 appears here in the printed release.)
(Chart 4 appears here in the printed release.)

      Illnesses.  Although workplace illnesses accounted for fewer than six percent of the 4.1 
million injury and illness cases, private industry employers reported 14,500 fewer illness cases in 
2006—down to 228,000 cases compared to 242,500 in 2005.  This resulted in a decline in the 
rate of total recordable illnesses in 2006 from 26.7 to 24.6 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.  
Although goods-producing industries accounted for approximately 43 percent of illness cases, 
these industries accounted for more than three-quarters of the decline in illness cases.  The 
manufacturing sector accounted for 36 percent of all cases of occupational illnesses and reported 
nearly 12,000 fewer illnesses in 2006.  (See table 6 and chart 5.)  Consequently, both the number 
and rate of illnesses declined significantly for goods-producing industries as a whole in 2006, 
while remaining relatively unchanged among service-providing industries as a whole.  
      
      The “All other illnesses” category accounted for nearly 62 percent of total illness cases in 
2006, compared to approximately 63 percent in 2005.  The number of cases and the incidence 
rate for “Hearing loss” and for “All other illnesses” in private industry declined in 2006, while 
the remaining categories of illness remained relatively unchanged.  Hearing loss accounted for 
approximately 11 percent of all illnesses in 2006, relatively unchanged from 2005.
       
(Chart 5 appears here in the printed release.)

	The survey measures the number of new work-related illness cases that are recognized, 
diagnosed, and reported during the year.  Some conditions (for example, long-term latent 
illnesses caused by exposure to carcinogens) often are difficult to relate to the workplace and are 
not adequately recognized and reported.  These long-term latent illnesses are believed to be 
understated in the survey’s illness measures.  In contrast, the overwhelming majority of the 
reported new illnesses are those that are easier to directly relate to workplace activity (for 
example, contact dermatitis or carpal tunnel syndrome).
      
Selected Industry Sectors at a Glance

	Construction.  Similar to private industry, incidence rates for all case types with the 
exception of cases with job transfer or restriction were lower in construction in 2006 than in 
2005.  These declines resulted from a six percent increase in hours worked while the number of 
cases of all types remained statistically unchanged.  The total recordable case (TRC) rate in 
construction declined from 6.3 to 5.9 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2006.  This decline was 
split evenly among cases with days away from work, job transfer or restriction (DART) and 
other recordable cases—both falling by 0.2 cases in 2006 to 3.2 and 2.7 cases per 100 full-time 
workers, respectively.  Specialty trade contractors (NAICS 238) accounted for the majority of 
both employment (63.7 percent) and injury and illness cases (67.5 percent) and reported the 
highest TRC rate (6.3 cases per 100 full-time workers) among the three 3-digit NAICS industries 
within construction.  Estimates within Utility system construction (NAICS 2371) were tabulated 
at more detailed levels than were previously available for the Survey’s NAICS-based estimates.  

	Manufacturing.  While the rate of total recordable injury and illness cases in 
manufacturing declined significantly in 2006—from 6.3 to 6.0 cases per 100 full-time workers—
this industry sector accounted for more than 1 in 5 injury and illness cases reported in private 
industry in 2006, but comprised less than 13 percent of total employment.  More than half the 
cases in manufacturing (55 percent) resulted in days away from work, job transfer, or restriction 
(DART).  Of these DART cases, more than 57 percent were job transfer or restriction cases, 
resulting in a rate of job transfer or restriction (1.9 cases per 100 full-time workers) higher than 
the rate for cases involving days away from work (1.4 cases).  Manufacturing accounted for 36 
percent of all private industry illness cases.  Although the rate of illnesses in manufacturing 
declined significantly in 2006—from 66.1 to 57.7 cases per 10,000 full-time workers—the 
illness rate for this sector remained more than two times higher than that of the national average 
(24.6 cases).       

	Transportation and warehousing.  The number of injury and illness cases and the rate at 
which they occurred decreased significantly in this industry sector in 2006, with the TRC rate 
falling from 7.0 to 6.5 cases per 100 full-time workers.  However, transportation and 
warehousing reported the highest rate among service-providing industry sectors.  Estimates have 
been tabulated at more detailed levels for several industries in this sector in 2006 than was the 
case in the past.  (See section below on Additional NAICS estimates in 2006 for more details). 

	Utilities.  A 12 percent decrease in the number of injury and illness cases reported among 
establishments in this sector resulted in a decline in the TRC rate from 4.6 to 4.1 cases per 100 
full-time workers in 2006.  Among the three 4-digit NAICS industries in this sector, only water, 
sewage, and other systems (NAICS 2213) experienced a significant decline in the TRC rate, 
falling from 7.6 to 5.2 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2006.  Estimates for electric power 
generation (NAICS 221110) have been tabulated in 2006 at the more detailed 6-digit level to 
distinguish differences that may exist among the different types of electric power generation.        

      Health care and social assistance.  The number of industries for which estimates were 
tabulated in this sector was greatly expanded in 2006.  (See section below on Additional NAICS 
estimates in 2006 for more details).  The number of injuries and illnesses and the rate at which 
they occurred in 2006 remained relatively unchanged in this sector.  Three of the 14 industries 
reporting 100,000 or more cases in 2006 are in this sector—General medical and surgical 
hospitals (NAICS 6221), Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621), and Nursing care 
facilities (NAICS 6231).  General medical and surgical hospitals accounted for nearly 4 in 10 
cases in this industry sector and reported more cases than any other single industry for which 
estimates were tabulated in 2006.  This sector accounted for more than 1 in 5 illness cases 
reported among private industry establishments in 2006, including more than 36 percent of 
respiratory illnesses.  The rate at which respiratory illnesses occurred in this sector was nearly 
three times that of private industry—5.5 versus 1.9 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.  More 
than half of these respiratory illnesses were reported in hospitals (NAICS 622) where the number 
of reported respiratory illnesses rose nearly 20 percent and whose rate increased from 8.0 to 9.6 
cases per 10,000 full-time workers.  
       
	Leisure and hospitality.  This aggregate combines two NAICS sectors—Arts, 
entertainment, and recreation and Accommodation and food services.  While the number of 
injury and illness cases and the rate at which they occurred declined in the arts, entertainment, 
and recreation sector in 2006—the rate falling from 6.1 to 5.3 cases per 100-full-time workers—
they remained relatively unchanged for accommodation and food services.  Nearly 7 in 10 injury 
and illnesses cases reported in arts, entertainment, and recreation occurred in amusement, 
gambling, and recreation establishments (NAICS 713).  The number of industries for which 
estimates were tabulated in these sectors was significantly expanded in 2006.  (See section below 
on Additional NAICS estimates in 2006 for more details).    

Additional NAICS estimates available in 2006

	Nonfatal workplace injury and illness estimates were tabulated in 2006 for more than 70 
additional NAICS industries for which estimates were not previously available from the Survey. 

Table A. Additional nonfatal workplace injury and illness NAICS tabulations in 2006
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Previous NAICS tabulations                |                Additional NAICS tabulations, 2006
__________________________________________|__________________________________________________________
Industry                          |   NAICS code1  |               NAICS code1
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Electric power generation         |     22111      |   221111, 221112, 221113, 221119 
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Utility system construction       |      2371      |   23711, 23712, 23713
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Electronic shopping and mail-     |                |
order houses                      |      4541      |   454111, 454113
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Scheduled air transportation      |      4811      |   481111, 481112
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Deep sea, coastal, and Great      |                |
Lakes water transportation        |      4831      |   483111, 483112, 483113, 483114
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Inland water transportation       |      4832      |   483211, 483212
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Support activities for water      |                |
transportation                    |      4883      |   48831, 48832, 48833, 48839
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Investigation and security        |                |
services                          |      5616      |   561611, 561612, 561613, 56162
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Waste collection                  |      5621      |   562111, 562119
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Waste treatment and disposal      |      5622      |   562211, 562212, 562213, 562219
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Offices of physicians             |      6211      |   621111, 621112
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Other ambulatory health care      |                |
services                          |      6219      |   62191, 62199
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Hospitals                         |       622      |   6221, 6222, 6223
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Nursing and residential care      |                |
facilities                        |       623      |   6231, 6232, 6233, 6239
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Social assistance                 |       624      |   62411, 62412, 62421, 62422, 62423, 6243, 6244
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Spectator sports                  |      7112      |   711211, 711212, 711219
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Amusement parks and arcades       |      7131      |   71311
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Other amusement and recreation    |                |
industries                        |      7139      |   71391, 71392, 71393, 71394, 71395, 71399
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
RV (recreational vehicle)         |                |
parks and recreational camps      |      7212      |   721211, 721214
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Limited-service eating places     |      7222       |  722211, 722212, 722213
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
Other personal services           |      8129      |   81291, 81292, 81293, 81299
__________________________________|________________|_________________________________________________
1 North American Industry Classification System—United States, 2002.  Internet site at 
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html. 
 

State Estimates
      
      Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses estimates for private industry are available 
separately for 43 States (including the District of Columbia) that participate in the Survey of 
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses program.  Estimates of injuries and illnesses to State and 
local government workers are available for 26 of these States.  The level of industry detail for 
which State estimates are available varies widely and is based on the needs determined by each 
State office.  Additionally, estimates are available for three U.S. territories—Guam, Puerto Rico, 
and the Virgin Islands—but data from these territories are not included in the tabulation of 
national estimates.  There are eight States which do not participate in the Survey for which 
estimates are not available separately.  (See map below.)  
  * The incidence rate of total recordable nonfatal occupational injury and illness cases 
    (TRC rate) in 2006 increased in 1 State, declined in 10 States, and remained 
    statistically unchanged in 32 States, compared to 2005.
  * The TRC rate in 23 States was higher than the national average of 4.4 cases per 100 
    full-time workers in 2006, lower than the national average in 13 States, and not 
    statistically different from the national average in 7 States.

(Map appears here in printed release)

Background of the Survey
      
      Second in a series of three releases from the BLS covering occupational safety and health 
statistics in 2006, this release follows the August 2007 report from the 2006 National Census of 
Fatal Occupational Injuries.  A third release in November 2007 will provide case and 
demographic details from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses for cases requiring at 
least one day away from work to recuperate.  
      
      The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses is a Federal/State program in which 
employer reports were collected from about 195,200 private industry establishments in 2006 and 
processed by State agencies cooperating with the BLS.  The survey measures nonfatal injuries 
and illnesses only and excludes the self-employed; farms with fewer than 11 employees; private 
households; Federal government agencies; and, for national estimates, employees in State and 
local government agencies.

      The survey provides estimates of the number and frequency (incidence rates) of nonfatal 
workplace injuries and illnesses based on logs kept by private industry employers who were 
selected to participate in the survey based on a scientifically selected probability sample.  These 
records reflect not only the year’s injury and illness experience, but also employers’ 
understanding of which cases are work related under recordkeeping rules revised by the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor and made effective 
on January 1, 2002.  Effective January 1, 2004, OSHA further revised the recordkeeping rules by 
adding hearing loss as a separately identified illness category.

	The survey measures the number of new work-related illness cases that are recognized, 
diagnosed, and reported during the year.  While the overwhelming majority of newly reported 
illnesses are those that can easily be linked to workplace activity (for example, contact dermatitis 
or carpal tunnel syndrome), some long-term latent illnesses (for example, those resulting from 
exposure to carcinogens) are not adequately recognized and reported due to the difficulty in 
relating them to the workplace and are believed to be understated in the survey’s illness 
measures.  
      
      Occupational injury and illness data for coal, metal, and nonmetal mining and for railroad 
activities were provided by the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration 
(MSHA) and the Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), 
respectively.  MSHA has not adopted the revised OSHA recordkeeping requirements for 2006.  
Therefore, estimates for coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are not comparable with estimates for 
other industries.  FRA adopted the revised OSHA recordkeeping requirements in June 2003.  
Therefore, estimates for railroad activities for 2006 can be compared to estimates for other 
industries.  However, estimates for railroad activities in 2006 should not be compared to 
estimates for railroad activities for years prior to 2004.
      
      The survey estimates of occupational injuries and illnesses are based on a scientifically 
selected probability sample, rather than a census of the entire population.  Because the data are 
based on a sample survey, the injury and illness estimates probably differ from the figures that 
would be obtained from all units covered by the survey.  Standard errors were calculated to 
determine the precision of each estimate from the survey and will be available on the BLS 
Internet site at http://www.bls.gov/iif/home.htm.  All comparisons in this release have been 
tested and found to be statistically significant using 95-percent confidence intervals.  Visit 
http://www.bls.gov/iif/osh_rse.htm for more background on relative standard errors.
      
	The number of injuries and illnesses reported in any year can be influenced by the level 
of economic activity, working conditions and work practices, worker experience and training, 
and the number of hours worked.  The data also are subject to nonsampling error.  The inability 
to obtain information about all cases in the sample, mistakes in recording or coding the data, and 
definition difficulties are examples of nonsampling error in the survey.  Nonsampling errors are 
not measured.  However, BLS has implemented quality assurance procedures to minimize 
nonsampling error in the survey.
      
      BLS has generated estimates of injuries and illnesses for many of the 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-
digit private sector industries as defined in the 2002 North American Industry Classification 
System Manual.  Because of space limitations, a complete listing of these estimates is not 
possible in this release, but is available from BLS staff on 202-691-6170 and from the BLS 
Internet site at http://www.bls.gov/iif/home.htm.