Private companies reported 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2022, up 7.5 percent from 2021, according to a new report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The increase, said the agency, is driven by the rise in both injuries, up 4.5 percent to 2.3 million cases, and illnesses up 26.1 percent to 460,700 cases.
A rise in respiratory cases has driven illnesses up 35.4 percent to 365,000 cases in 2022. This comes after a decrease in respiratory illnesses in 2021 compared to 2020, said the BLS.
The estimates are based on statistics provided by the Survey of Occupational Injuries and illnesses (SOII).
Over the two-year period between 2021-2022, 2.2 million cases involving days away from work (DAFW), representing 66.5 percent of the total cases involving days away from work, job restriction or transfer (DART) were reported. This translates to an annualized incidence rate of 112.9 cases per 10,000 full- time equivalent (FTE) workers and required a median of 10 days away from work, the BLS said.
Over the same period, there were 1.1 million cases involving days of job transfer or restriction (DJTR), which accounted for 33.5 percent of total DART cases, and occurred at an annualized rate of 56.9 cases per 10,000 FTE workers, according to the agency. The median days of job transfer or restriction was 15 days over 2021-2022.
In 2022, the BLS noted the rate of injury cases was 2.3 cases per 100 FTE workers, unchanged from 2021.
The illness rate increased in 2022, with private industry employers reporting a rate of 45.2 cases per 10,000 FTE workers compared to 37.7 cases in 2021, the report found. The increase was driven by a rise in respiratory illnesses, which increased from 27.8 cases per 10,000 FTE workers in 2021 to 35.8 cases in 2022.
Of all industries, transportation and material moving occupations experienced the highest number of DART cases among major occupation groups with 835,040 total injuries and illnesses over the 2021-2022 period, translating to an annualized incidence rate of 410.0 cases per 10,000 FTE.
Overexertion and bodily reaction had the most DART cases at 1,001,440, followed by contact with objects and equipment with 780,690 cases.
The number of respiratory illnesses in the private health care and social assistance sector increased from 145,300 in 2021 to 199,700 cases in 2022, an increase of 37.5 percent, the agency reported.
There were 502,380 workplace musculoskeletal disorders that resulted in at least one day away from work. These cases occurred at an annualized incidence rate of 25.3 musculoskeletal disorders per 10,000 FTE workers, the BLS reported.