Over 50,000 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported among Connecticut private industry employers in 2011, resulting in an incidence rate of 4.5 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that Connecticut was among 19 states that had an incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRC) significantly higher than the national rate of 3.5. (Connecticut was one of 42 states for which statewide estimates are available. See Technical Note at the end of this release for more information about the survey.)

Connecticut’s findings from the 2011 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses include:

• TRC incidence rates in private industry ranged from 1.5 in financial activities to 6.9 in natural resources and mining. (See table 1.)
• Two supersectors, with about 43 percent of private industry employment, accounted for 53 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 2.7 for small establishments (those employing fewer than 11 workers) to 6.2 for mid-size establishments (those employing between 50 and 249 workers). (See table 3.)
• State government was the only sector in Connecticut to experience a significant change in its TRC incidence rate in 2011, declining from 5.2 to 4.0. (See table 4.)

 

Table A. Number and rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in private industry, Connecticut and the United States

Characteristic	Connecticut		United States
	Number (in thousands)	Rate (per 100 workers)	Number (in thousands)	Rate  (per 100 workers)
Injuries and illnesses (total cases)	50.6	4.5	2,986.5	3.5
Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction	26.8	2.4	1,538.7	1.8
Cases with days away from work	16.7	1.5	908.3	1.1
Cases with job transfer or restriction	10.1	0.9	630.4	0.7
Other recordable cases	23.8	2.1	1,447.8	1.7
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Private industry injury and illness case types

Of the 50,600 private industry injury and illness cases reported in Connecticut, 26,800 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 2.4 cases per 100 full-time workers. Sixty-two percent of the DART cases in Connecticut were incidents that resulted in at least one day away from work, compared to 52 percent nationally. Other recordable cases (those not involving days away from work, job transfer, or restriction) accounted for the remaining 23,800 cases in Connecticut, at a rate of 2.1. In comparison, the national rate for other recordable cases was 1.7.

In Connecticut, no private industry supersector experienced a significant change in the TRC incidence rate. (See table 4.) The DART rate, however, decreased in education and health services.

In 2011, 47,700 (94.3 percent) of private industry recordable injuries and illnesses were injuries. Workplace illnesses accounted for an additional 3,000 recordable cases. Three categories—skin disease, hearing loss, and respiratory conditions—accounted for 37 percent of the occupational illnesses in Connecticut. Nationally, these three categories amounted to 36 percent of the work-related illness total.

State and local government injury and illness cases    

Among state and local government workers in Connecticut, approximately 10,000 injury and illness cases were reported in 2011, resulting in a rate of 6.8 cases per 100 full-time workers. Nationally, the rate was 5.7. Almost 80 percent of injuries and illnesses reported in Connecticut’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 the District of Columbia. Nineteen states, including Connecticut, 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.) Twelve states had TRC rates significantly below the national rate, and ten states’ rates were not statistically different from the national rate. Differences in industry mix account for at least some of the differences in rates across states.

Compared to 2010, private industry TRC incidence rates declined in seven states and rose in one state. The rate was statistically unchanged in 32 states. 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/soii/home.htm.

Additional occupational injury and illness data are available from our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/northeast/news.htm#health. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

 

 

Table 1. Incidence rates(1) of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry sector and case type, Connecticut, 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	1578.2	4.7	2.5	1.6	0.9	2.2
Private industry	1376.9	4.5	2.4	1.5	0.9	2.1
Goods-producing	223.9	4.4	2.5	1.5	1.0	1.9
Natural resources and mining	4.6	6.9	6.0	2.0	4.0	1.0
Construction	51.6	5.0	3.3	2.7	0.6	1.7
Manufacturing	167.6	4.1	2.2	1.2	1.1	1.9
Service-providing	1153.0	4.5	2.3	1.5	0.9	2.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	288.1	5.3	3.2	1.9	1.3	2.1
Information	31.1	1.9	1.1	0.8	0.3	0.9
Financial activities	132.0	1.5	0.9	0.6	--	0.6
Professional and business services	193.7	2.4	1.0	0.8	0.3	1.3
Education and health services	307.1	6.3	3.3	1.9	1.4	3.0
Leisure and hospitality	153.2	6.4	2.5	1.9	0.7	3.9
Other services, except public administration	47.9	5.2	2.1	1.3	--	3.1
State and local government	201.3	6.8	3.7	2.9	0.8	3.1
State government	66.9	4.0	2.8	2.5	0.4	1.2
Local government	134.4	8.2	4.1	3.1	1.0	4.1
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, Connecticut, 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	1578.2	60.5	32.1	20.9	11.3	28.4
Private industry	1376.9	50.6	26.8	16.7	10.1	23.8
Goods-producing	223.9	9.5	5.5	3.3	2.2	4.0
Natural resources and mining	4.6	0.3	0.3	0.1	0.2	5
Construction	51.6	2.3	1.5	1.2	0.3	0.8
Manufacturing	167.6	6.9	3.7	2.0	1.8	3.2
Service-providing	1153.0	41.1	21.3	13.4	7.9	19.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	288.1	12.4	7.4	4.5	3.0	5.0
Information	31.1	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.2
Financial activities	132.0	1.8	1.1	0.7	--	0.7
Professional and business services	193.7	4.0	1.8	1.3	0.5	2.2
Education and health services	307.1	14.4	7.6	4.5	3.1	6.8
Leisure and hospitality	153.2	6.1	2.4	1.8	0.6	3.7
Other services, except public administration	47.9	1.7	0.7	0.4	--	1.0
State and local government	201.3	9.9	5.4	4.2	1.2	4.5
State government	66.9	2.0	1.4	1.2	0.2	0.6
Local government	134.4	7.8	3.9	3.0	1.0	3.9
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, Connecticut, 2011

Industry sector(2)(3)(4)	All establish-ments	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	4.7	2.6	4.1	6.3	4.9	4.5
Private industry	4.5	2.7	3.7	6.2	4.3	4.4
Goods-producing	4.4	3.6	5.3	5.7	3.7	2.3
Natural resources and mining	6.9	5	3.6	3.5	--	--
Construction	5.0	5.0	5.7	4.2	3.9	--
Manufacturing	4.1	--	5.1	6.0	3.2	2.3
Service-providing	4.5	2.5	3.4	6.3	4.5	5.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	5.3	--	4.8	6.8	6.7	6.2
Information	1.9	5	1.6	3.5	1.8	--
Financial activities	1.5	--	1.6	1.3	0.8	0.7
Professional and business services	2.4	--	2.9	2.3	1.8	1.5
Education and health services	6.3	--	3.4	7.5	7.2	7.8
Leisure and hospitality	6.4	0.3	2.9	14.1	5.9	--
Other services, except public administration	5.2	--	3.5	5.5	2.9	--
State and local government	6.8	--	9.7	7.6	6.8	5.2
State government	4.0	--	0.8	4.0	5.1	3.7
Local government	8.2	--	12.1	10.8	7.6	5.9
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 type with measures of statistical significance, Connecticut, 2010-2011

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	4.4	4.7	2.4	2.5
Private industry	4.0	4.5	2.2	2.4
Goods-producing	4.1	4.4	2.4	2.5
Natural resources and mining	--	6.9	--	6.0
Construction	4.7	5.0	2.6	3.3
Manufacturing	4.0	4.1	2.3	2.2
Service-providing	4.0	4.5	2.2	2.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	4.8	5.3	2.8	3.2
Information	2.1	1.9	1.2	1.1
Financial activities	1.6	1.5	0.6	0.9
Professional and business services	1.9	2.4	1.0	1.0
Education and health services	6.6	6.3	3.7	3.3*
Leisure and hospitality	3.5	6.4	1.7	2.5
Other services, except public administration	3.3	5.2	1.1	2.1
State and local government	7.3	6.8	3.6	3.7
State government	5.2	4.0*	3.8	2.8*
Local government	8.5	8.2	3.5	4.1*
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