manufacturing

Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in New Jersey – 2015

On Dec 20, 2016

New Jersey’s private industry employers reported 72,000 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2015, resulting in an incidence rate of 2.7 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that New Jersey was among 12 states and the District of Columbia that had an incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRC) significantly lower than the national rate of 3.0. (New Jersey was 1 of 41 states and the District of Columbia for which statewide estimates are available.

New Jersey’s findings from the 2015 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses include:

  • TRC incidence rates in private industry ranged from 0.7 in financial activities to 4.2 in education and health.
  • Two supersectors, with about 44 percent of private industry employment, accounted for 61 percent of the occupational injuries and illnesses: education and health services; and trade, transportation, and utilities.
  • In private industry, the TRC injury and illness incidence rate ranged from 0.8 for small establishments (those employing fewer than 11 workers) to 3.7 for large establishments (those employing over 1,000 workers).
  • New Jersey was 1 of 9 states to register a significant decline in the private industry TRC rate over the year.

 

Number and rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in private industry, United States and New Jersey, 2015

 
  United States New Jersey  
Number
(thousands)		 Rate
(per 100 workers)		 Number
(thousands)		 Rate
(per 100 workers)		  
Total cases 2,905.9 3.0 72.0 2.7  
Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction 1,571.9 1.6 40.9 1.5  
Cases with days away from work 902.2 0.9 27.7 1.0  
Cases with job transfer or restriction 669.8 0.7 13.2 0.5  
Other recordable cases 1,333.9 1.4 31.1 1.1  

 

Private industry injury and illness case types

Of the 72,000 private industry injury and illness cases reported in New Jersey, 40,900 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. Sixty-eight percent of the DART cases in New Jersey were incidents that resulted in at least one day away from work, compared to 57 percent nationally. Other recordable cases (those not involving days away from work, job transfer, or restriction) accounted for the remaining 31,100 cases in New Jersey, at a rate of 1.1. In comparison, the national rate for other recordable cases was 1.4.

In New Jersey, construction was the only supersector to experience a significant change in the TRC incidence rate, down from the previous year. Trade, transportation, and utilities was the only supsersector to register a significant change in the DART rate, a decrease from 2014.

In 2015, approximately 68,800 (95.6 percent) of private industry recordable injuries and illnesses were injuries. Workplace illnesses accounted for an additional 3,100 recordable cases. Three categories—hearing loss, skin disorders, and respiratory conditions—accounted for 32 percent of the occupational illnesses in New Jersey. Nationally, these three categories amounted to 36 percent of the work-related illness total.

State and local government injury and illness cases

Among the state and local government sector in New Jersey, approximately 22,000 injury and illness cases were reported in 2015, resulting in a rate of 5.6 cases per 100 full-time workers. Nationally, the rate was 5.1. Almost 80 percent of injuries and illnesses reported in New Jersey’s public sector occurred among local government workers.

State estimates and over-the-year change

For 2015, occupational injury and illness data are available for 41 states and the District of Columbia. Twenty-one states had private industry TRC incidence rates higher than the national rate of 3.0 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2015. Twelve states, including New Jersey, and the District of Columbia had TRC rates lower than the national rate. Eight states had TRC rates that were about the same as the national rate. Factors such as differences in the composition of industry employment may influence state incidence rates and should be considered when comparing rates among different states.

Compared to 2014, private industry TRC incidence rates declined in nine states, including New Jersey. The private industry TRC incidence rate was relatively unchanged in 32 states and in the District of Columbia. Estimates for nine states were not available in 2015 for comparison.