The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics published a report on employer-reported workplace injuries and illnesses for 2023, based on information from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII).

According to the report, private industry employers reported 2.6 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2023, down 8.4% from 2022. This decrease was driven by a 56.6% drop in illnesses to 200,100 cases in 2023, the lowest number since 2019. This decrease in illness was due to a 72.6% decrease in respiratory illness cases, down to 100,200 cases in 2023.

There were 946,500 nonfatal injuries and illnesses involving days away from work (DAFW) in 2023, 20.1% lower than in 2022. These represented 62.0% of cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer (DART). DAFW cases occurred at a rate of 0.9 cases per 100 full-time employed (FTE) workers, down from 1.2 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2022. In 2023, there were 581,000 cases involving days of job transfer or restriction (DJTR), which accounted for 38% of total DART cases, and occurred at a rate of 0.6 cases per 100 FTE workers.

Injury and illnesses cases in the private health care and social assistance sector decreased from 665,300 in 2022 to 562,500 in 2023. Cases in manufacturing also declined from 396,800 cases in 2022 to 355,800 in 2023.

Respiratory illness saw varying decreases across industry sectors. In 2023, the private health care and social assistance sector saw 44.1 cases per 10,000 FTE workers, compared to 134.8 cases per 10,000 FTE workers in 2022. Retail trade saw a drop from 67.3 cases per 10,000 FTE workers in 2022 to just 9.1 cases per 10,000 FTE workers in 2023.

Additional highlights include:

• Injuries in food and beverage stores increased 6.5% to 78,200 cases in 2023, up from 73,500 in 2022. Illnesses in this industry fell 78.7% from 7,900 cases down from 37,100 in 2022
• Food manufacturing had 61,400 total injury and illness cases in 2023. These cases occurred at a rate of 3.6 cases per 100 FTE workers, down from 4.6 in 2022.
• Couriers and messengers had 77,000 total cases in 2023, making up 29% of the total cases in the transportation and warehousing sector (265,700). These occurred at a rate of 9.2 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2023, whereas transportation and warehousing had an incidence rate of 4.5 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2023