Almost 163,000 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported among New York private industry employers in 2011, resulting in an incidence rate of 2.9 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that New York was the only state to register a significant increase in the private industry rate of total recordable cases (TRC) rate over the year. (New York was 1 of 41 states for which statewide estimates are available. See Technical Note at the end of this release for more information about the survey.)

New York's findings from the 2011 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses include:

• TRC incidence rates in private industry ranged from 0.9 in information to 4.4 in construction. (See table 1.)
• Two supersectors, with about 44 percent of private industry employment, accounted for 56 percent of the occupational injuries and illnesses: education and health services; and trade, transportation, and utilities. (See table 2.)
• In private industry, the TRC injury and illness incidence rate ranged from 1.5 for small establishments (those employing fewer than 11 workers) to 3.5 for larger mid-size establishments (those employing between 250 and 999 workers). (See table 3.)
• New York was among 12 states that had a private industry TRC rate significantly lower than the national rate of 3.5.

Private industry injury and illness case types

Of the 162,900 private industry injury and illness cases reported in New York, 84,300 were of a more severe nature, involving days away from work, job transfer, or restriction—commonly referred to as DART cases. These cases occurred at a rate of 1.5 cases per 100 full-time workers. Ninety percent of the DART cases in New York were incidents that resulted in at least one day away from work, compared to 59 percent nationally. Other recordable cases (those not involving days away from work, job transfer, or restriction) accounted for the remaining 78,600 cases in New York, at a rate of 1.4. In comparison, the national rate for other recordable cases was 1.7.

In New York, financial activities was the only supersector to experience a significant increase in the TRC incidence rate, but the DART rate was statistically unchanged. (See table 4.) In contrast, information, the only supersector with a significant decline in the TRC rate over the year, registered a significant decrease in the DART rate.

In 2011, approximately 155,000 (95.2 percent) of private industry recordable injuries and illnesses were injuries. Workplace illnesses accounted for an additional 7,800 recordable cases. Four categories—hearing loss, skin disorders, respiratory conditions, and poisoning—accounted for 35 percent of the occupational illnesses in New York. Nationally, these four categories amounted to 37 percent of the work-related illness total.

State and local government injury and illness cases

Among state and local government workers in New York, about 69,000 injury and illness cases were reported in 2011, resulting in a rate of 7.1 cases per 100 full-time workers. Nationally, the rate was 5.7. Almost 77 percent of injuries and illnesses reported in New York’s public sector occurred among local government workers.

State estimates and over-the-year change

For 2011, occupational injury and illness data are available for 41 states and for the District of Columbia. Nineteen states had private industry TRC incidence rates higher than the national rate of 3.5 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2011. (See chart 1.) New York was among 12 states and the District of Columbia which had TRC rates significantly below the national rate. The TRC rate was not statistically different from the national rate in the 10 remaining states. Differences in industry mix account for at least some of the differences in rates across states.

Compared to 2010, the private industry TRC incidence rate increased in New York, after decreasing over the prior year. Rates declined in 7 states and were statistically unchanged in 32 states and in the District of Columbia. (Estimates were not available for Pennsylvania for 2010 for comparison.)

Technical note

The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) is based on employer reports of OSHA-recordable injuries. Survey data are collected and processed by state agencies cooperating with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The survey measures nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses, only, and excludes the self-employed; farms with fewer than 11 employees; private households; and federal government agencies.

Employer reports 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.

The number of injuries and illnesses reported 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 incidence rates presented in this release represent the number of injuries and/or illnesses per 100 full-time equivalent workers and were calculated as:
      (N / EH) X 200,000 where,
          N = number of injuries and/or illnesses
        EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year
200,000 = base for 100 full-time equivalent workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year)

Background and methodological information regarding the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, including information such as changes in the definition of recordable cases due to revised recordkeeping requirements in 2002 and the inherent underreporting of illnesses, can be found in Chapter 9 of the BLS Handbook of Methods at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf. Additional occupational injury and illness data are available from our regional web page at www.bls.gov/ro2/news.htm#safety. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339

Table 1. Incidence rates(1) of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry sector and case type, New York, 2011

Industry(2)(3)(4)	2011 Average annual employment (000's)	Total recordable cases	Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction			Other recordable cases
			Total	Cases with days away from work(5)	Cases with job transfer or restriction
All industries including state and local government	8,233.0	3.5	1.9	1.8	0.1	1.6
Private industry	6,950.9	2.9	1.5	1.3	0.2	1.4
Goods-producing	787.1	4.0	2.1	1.8	0.3	2.0
Natural resources and mining	22.1	3.6	2.0	1.9	0.1	1.6
Construction	309.6	4.4	2.0	1.9	0.1	2.4
Manufacturing	455.3	3.8	2.1	1.7	0.4	1.7
Service-providing	6,163.8	2.7	1.4	1.3	0.1	1.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,469.0	3.6	2.2	1.9	0.3	1.5
Information	239.9	0.9	0.5	0.4	--	0.4
Financial activities	674.6	1.2	0.5	0.5	--	0.7
Professional and business services	1,119.3	1.1	0.4	0.4	0.1	0.6
Education and health services	1,604.7	4.0	2.1	2.0	0.2	1.8
Leisure and hospitality	753.3	3.5	1.2	1.2	0.1	2.2
Other services, except public administration	303.1	1.9	1.2	1.2	0.1	0.6
State and local government	1,282.1	7.1	4.4	4.3	0.1	2.8
State government	225.1	8.0	4.6	4.5	0.1	3.4
Local government	1,057.0	6.9	4.3	4.2	0.1	2.6
Footnotes: (1) Incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers and were calculated as: (N/EH) x 200,000 where N = number of injuries and illnesses EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year). (2) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees. (3) Data for mining (Sector 21 in the North American Industry Classification System -- United States, 2007) include establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction and related support activities. Data for mining operators in coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are provided to BLS by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Independent mining contractors are excluded from the coal, metal, and nonmetal mining industries. These data do not reflect the changes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration made to its recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002; therefore estimates for these industries are not comparable to estimates in other industries. (4) Data for employers in rail transportation are provided to BLS by the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. (5) Days-away-from-work cases include those that result in days away from work with or without job transfer or restriction
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Table 2. Numbers of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by selected industries and case types, 2011 (In thousands)

Industry(1)(2)(3)	2011 Average annual employment	Total recordable cases	Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction			Other recordable cases
			Total	Cases with days away from work(4)	Cases with job transfer or restriction
All industries including state and local government	8,233.0	232.2	126.7	117.2	9.5	105.5
Private industry	6,950.9	162.9	84.3	75.6	8.8	78.6
Goods-producing	787.1	29.9	15.4	13.2	2.2	14.5
Natural resources and mining	22.1	0.8	0.4	0.4	(5)	0.3
Construction	309.6	11.8	5.4	5.1	0.2	6.5
Manufacturing	455.3	17.3	9.6	7.7	1.9	7.7
Service-providing	6,163.8	133.1	68.9	62.4	6.6	64.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,469.0	43.7	25.8	22.5	3.4	17.9
Information	239.9	1.8	0.9	0.9	--	0.9
Financial activities	674.6	7.6	3.1	3.0	--	4.5
Professional and business services	1,119.3	10.4	4.3	3.7	0.6	6.1
Education and health services	1,604.7	47.6	25.6	23.6	2.0	21.9
Leisure and hospitality	753.3	17.7	6.3	6.0	0.3	11.3
Other services, except public administration	303.1	4.2	2.8	2.7	0.1	1.5
State and local government	1,282.1	69.3	42.4	41.6	0.8	26.9
State government	225.1	16.0	9.2	9.1	0.2	6.8
Local government	1,057.0	53.3	33.2	32.6	0.6	20.1
Footnotes: (1) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees. (2) Data for mining (Sector 21 in the North American Industry Classification System -- United States, 2007) include establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction and related support activities. Data for mining operators in coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are provided to BLS by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Independent mining contractors are excluded from the coal, metal, and nonmetal mining industries. These data do not reflect the changes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration made to its recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002; therefore estimates for these industries are not comparable to estimates in other industries. (3) Data for employers in rail transportation are provided to BLS by the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. (4) Days-away-from-work cases include those that result in days away from work with or without job transfer or restriction. (5) Data too small to be displayed.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Table 3. Incidence rates(1) of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry sector and employment size, 2011

Industry sector(2)(3)(4)	All establishments	Establishment employment size (workers)
		1 to 10	11 to 49	50 to 249	250 to 999	1,000 or more
All industries including state and local government	3.5	1.6	2.7	3.6	4.2	4.7
Private industry	2.9	1.5	2.6	3.4	3.5	2.9
Goods-producing	4.0	2.4	4.1	5.1	4.2	1.9
Natural resources and mining	3.6	0.6	4.3	3.4	--	--
Construction	4.4	3.2	3.6	6.6	5.4	--
Manufacturing	3.8	0.7	4.7	4.5	4.0	1.8
Service-providing	2.7	1.4	2.4	3.0	3.4	3.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3.6	1.9	3.4	4.2	5.0	3.6
Information	0.9	( 5 )	--	1.3	1.5	0.7
Financial activities	1.2	2.7	0.8	1.3	1.3	0.4
Professional and business services	1.1	--	1.6	1.0	1.4	0.7
Education and health services	4.0	1.5	3.1	3.9	4.7	4.5
Leisure and hospitality	3.5	--	2.6	4.7	5.9	4.8
Other services, except public administration	1.9	--	2.5	2.6	3.9	--
State and local government	7.1	6.5	5.0	5.9	7.7	7.5
State government	8.0	--	4.3	6.0	10.1	7.2
Local government	6.9	7.0	5.1	5.9	6.4	7.5
Footnotes: (1) Incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers and were calculated as: (N/EH) x 200,000 where N = number of injuries and illnesses EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year). (2) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees. (3) Data for mining (Sector 21 in the North American Industry Classification System -- United States, 2007) include establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction and related support activities. Data for mining operators in coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are provided to BLS by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Independent mining contractors are excluded from the coal, metal, and nonmetal mining industries. These data do not reflect the changes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration made to its recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002; therefore estimates for these industries are not comparable to estimates in other industries. (4) Data for employers in rail transportation are provided to BLS by the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. (5) Data too small to be displayed.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Table 4. Incidence rates(1) of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry sector and selected case types, 2009-2011

Industry(2)(3)(4)	Total recordable cases		Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction
	2010	2011	2010	2011
All industries including state and local government	3.4	3.5	1.9	1.9
Private industry	2.7	2.9*	1.4	1.5*
Goods-producing	3.6	4.0	2.0	2.1
Natural resources and mining	2.8	3.6	2.1	2.0
Construction	3.8	4.4	2.0	2.0
Manufacturing	3.5	3.8	1.9	2.1
Service-providing	2.6	2.7	1.4	1.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3.4	3.6	1.9	2.2*
Information	1.9	0.9*	1.2	0.5*
Financial activities	0.7	1.2*	0.4	0.5
Professional and business services	1.1	1.1	0.5	0.4
Education and health services	3.8	4.0	2.0	2.1
Leisure and hospitality	3.6	3.5	1.6	1.2*
Other services, except public administration	2.1	1.9	1.0	1.2
State and local government	7.3	7.1*	4.4	4.4
State government	7.6	8.0*	4.7	4.6*
Local government	7.2	6.9*	4.4	4.3*
Footnotes: (1) Incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers and were calculated as: (N/EH) x 200,000 where (2) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees. (3) Data for mining (Sector 21 in the North American Industry Classification System -- United States, 2007) include establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction and related support activities. Data for mining operators in coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are provided to BLS by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Independent mining contractors are excluded from the coal, metal, and nonmetal mining industries. These data do not reflect the changes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration made to its recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002; therefore estimates for these industries are not comparable to estimates in other industries. (4) Data for employers in rail transportation are provided to BLS by the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. (*) An asterisk indicates a significant difference between the current year and prior year values, when testing at 95% confidence.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Last Modified Date: February 14, 2013