The California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) published a new bulletin that explores how COVID-19 drove recent volatility in workplace injury and illness trends.

Recent results from California’s Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) – administered by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in cooperation with the Department of Industrial Relations – show that after the number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses soared to a historic level during the pandemic, including a 25.6% jump between 2021 and 2022, the rate fell nearly 20% over two years.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses indicate that reported cases, which surged during COVID-19 and peaked in 2022, have steadily declined over the past two years. Total cases rose to 565,900 in 2022 before falling to 454,100 in 2024, while the injury and illness rate dropped from 4.2 to 3.3 cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers.

Overall, the volatility in California’s injury and illness trends from 2019 to 2024 was driven almost entirely by changes in the number of occupational illness reports.  Employers reported just 24,800 occupational illness cases in 2019, but that number soared to 162,600 in 2022 before dropping to 39,500 in 2024.

The spike was largely driven by employer-reported COVID-19 illnesses, particularly respiratory conditions, which accounted for most occupational illness reports in 2022. Public sector workers experienced the sharpest increases during the pandemic, though rates across sectors have since returned to, or near, pre-pandemic levels.

Understanding that recent volatility in injury and illness rates was largely pandemic-driven helps separate temporary disruption from long-term trend shifts. Monitoring these patterns supports more accurate forecasting, pricing, and resource planning across the system.