163K Nonfatal Workplace Injuries, Illnesses Reported by N.Y. Private Employers in 2011

Almost 163,000 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported among New York private industry employers in 2011, according to data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That number translates to an incidence rate of 2.9 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers.

The Bureau’s Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli stated that New York was the only state in its survey to register a significant increase in the private industry rate of total recordable cases (TRC) rate over the year. New York was one of 41 states for which statewide estimates are available.

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.

• Two supersectors, with about 44 percent of private industry employment, accounted for 56 percent of the occupational injuries and illnesses. These supersectors are: education and health services; and trade, transportation, and utilities.

• 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).

• New York was among 12 states that had a private industry TRC rate significantly lower than the national rate of 3.5.