Injury, illness survey measures concrete, cement production incidents

New U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and estimates show private industry employers reported 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2017, down nearly 46,000 cases from the prior year and equating to a rate of 2.8 cases per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers.

In concrete and cement production, the agency’s 2017 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) notes 10,200 reportable cases—6,600 entailing days away from work, job restriction or transfer (DAFW). Across all manufacturing sector workplaces, the BLS finds 115,550 DAFW cases and a 93-case per 10,000 FTE worker rate, both unchanged from 2016. Also among private sector employers, the survey indicates upwards of 883,000 DAFW-level occupational injuries and illnesses last year, or 89.4 cases per 10,000 FTE workers.

Among the 19 private industry sectors in the 2017 SOII, only manufacturing, finance and insurance experienced statistically significant changes in their overall rates of nonfatal injuries and illnesses, each declining by 0.1 cases per 100 FTE workers compared to 2016. The 2017 survey rate of total recordable cases fell 0.1 cases per 100 FTE workers, continuing a pattern of declines observed since 2004, excepting 2012. BLS will follow up on the SOII 2017 figures with this month’s release of findings from the companion Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.