For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, November 3, 2021 USDL-21-1927

Technical information: (202) 691-6170 • IIFSTAFF@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/iif

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

NOTE: The incidence rate for stockers and order fillers in table 4 and chart 3 was incorrect and was 

removed on April 6, 2023. 

EMPLOYER-REPORTED WORKPLACE INJURIES AND ILLNESSES – 2020

Private industry employers reported 2.7 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2020, down 

from 2.8 million in 2019, a decrease of 5.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In 

2020, the incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRC) in private industry was 2.7 cases per 100 fulltime equivalent (FTE) workers. These estimates are from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and 

Illnesses (SOII).

The decline in injury and illness cases was due to a drop in injury cases, with private industry employers 

reporting 2.1 million nonfatal injuries in 2020, down from 2.7 million in 2019. At the same time, total 

reported illness cases more than quadrupled to 544,600 cases, up from 127,200 cases in 2019. (See chart 

1.) This increase was driven by a nearly 4,000 percent increase in employer reported respiratory illness 

cases in 2020 at 428,700, up from 10,800 in 2019. (See chart 2.)

The rate of injury cases also decreased in 2020, with private industry employers reporting a rate of 2.2 

cases per 100 FTE workers compared to 2.6 cases in 2019. Over the same period, the rate of illness 

cases increased from 12.4 cases per 10,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers to 55.9 cases. The 

increase was driven by the rise in the respiratory illness rate, which rose from 1.1 cases per 10,000 FTE 

workers to 44.0 cases. 

There were 1,176,340 nonfatal injuries and illnesses that caused a private industry worker to miss at 

least one day of work in 2020, 32.4 percent higher than in 2019. Of these cases, 33.2 percent (390,020 

cases) were categorized as other diseases due to viruses not elsewhere classified, which includes 

reported COVID-19-pandemic related illnesses. (See table 3.)

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

Total reported

cases

Injuries Illnesses

2019 2020

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

All illnesses Respiratory illnesses

Chart 2. Counts of cases of all illnesses and 

respiratory illnesses, private industry, 2016-20

Chart 1. Total reported, injury, and illness case 

counts, private industry, 2019-20
2 

Chart 3. Incidence rates for cases resulting in days away from work in selected occupations, private 

industry, 2019-20

Occupation

Ten occupations accounted for 38.3 percent of all private industry cases involving days away from work

(DAFW) in 2020. Of these, nursing assistants had the highest number of DAFW cases with 96,480, an 

increase of 68,890 cases (249.7 percent) from 2019. In 2020, DAFW cases for registered nurses 

increased by 58,590 cases (290.8 percent) to 78,740 cases. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers had 

43,500 DAFW cases in 2020, a decrease of 4,490 cases (9.4 percent). DAFW cases for laborers and 

freight, stock and material movers, hand were essentially unchanged in 2020. (See table 4.) 

Included in the ten occupations mentioned above, nursing assistants, registered nurses, and licensed 

practical and licensed vocational nurses had notable increases in their DAFW incidence rates in 2020. 

Nursing assistants, specifically, had a DAFW incidence rate of 1,023.8 per 10,000 FTE workers in 2020, 

an increase from 283.5 in 2019. The private industry rate for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers 

decreased from 280.0 per 10,000 FTE workers in 2019 to 259.7 in 2020. (See chart 3.) 

In 2020, the median number of days away from work in all private industry occupations was 12 days, an 

increase from 8 days in 2019. Nursing assistants also had a median number of 12 days, doubled from 6 

days in 2019. Days away from work for registered nurses and licensed practical and licensed vocational 

nurses increased in 2020 to 13 days and 12 days, respectively. The median days for heavy and tractortrailer truck drivers increased to 23 days in 2020 from 19 days in 2019. 

0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200

Retail salespersons

Maintenance and repair workers, general

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

Laborers and freight, stock and material movers, hand

Registered nurses

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

Nursing assistants

Incidence rate per 10,000 FTE workers

2020 2019

 Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact in SOII Results

Occupational injuries and illnesses collected in the 2020 SOII include cases of COVID-19 when a worker was infected as a result of 

performing their work-related duties and met other recordkeeping criteria. COVID-19 is considered a respiratory illness under criteria 

established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The SOII collects detailed case information, including 

nature, for incidences requiring at least one day away from work and codes these cases using the Occupational Injury and Illness 

Classification System (OIICS). While OIICS does not include a code specifically for COVID-19, applicable days away from work 

cases were included in the Nature code 3299 – “Other diseases due to viruses, not elsewhere classified.”
3 

Chart 4. Incidence rates for cases resulting in days away from work in selected health care and social 

assistance industries, private industry, 2019-20

Industry

Total injury and illness cases decreased or remained the same in all private industry sectors, except for 

health care and social assistance, which increased 40.1 percent in 2020. (See table 3.) The health care 

and social assistance sector had 806,200 private industry injury and illness cases in 2020, over half 

(447,890) of which resulted in at least one day away from work. In 2019, this sector had 575,200 private 

industry cases, with 151,410 resulting in at least one day away from work. The total incidence rate for 

this sector was 5.5 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2020, compared to 3.8 per 100 FTE workers in 2019. 

Of the 390,020 private industry DAFW cases due to other diseases due to viruses, not elsewhere 

classified, the health care and social assistance sector represented 288,890 (74.1 percent) of those cases. 

(See table 3.)

Among health care and social assistance industries, three industries had increases in DAFW rates in 

2020. The 2020 DAFW rates for nursing and residential care facilities, hospitals, and ambulatory health 

care services were 791.7, 371.7, and 121.4 cases per 10,000 FTE workers, respectively. In 2019, these 

rates were 170.9, 129.7, and 53.5 cases per 10,000 FTE workers. In 2020, the DAFW rate for social 

assistance was essentially unchanged. (See chart 4.)

Additional Highlights

• DAFW cases for women in private industry increased 68.0 percent to 585,540 in 2020, from 

348,600 in 2019. DAFW cases for men in private industry increased 7.8 percent to 577,990 in 

2020, from 535,980 in 2019. 

• Private industry workers age 65 years or over had a median of 14 days away from work due to 

injuries and illnesses in 2020, compared to 16 days for this same group of workers in 2019. All 

private industry workers had a median of 12 days away from work in 2020. 

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Nursing and residential

care facilities

Hospitals Ambulatory health care

services

Social assistance

Incidence rate per 10,000 FTE workers

2019 2020
4 

• The rate of total recordable cases of nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the private leisure, 

entertainment, and hospitality industry decreased from 3.3 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2019 to 

2.7 cases in 2020, driven by a drop in injury cases from 3.2 to 2.4 cases per 100 FTE workers. 

• Both the total recordable cases and rate were down in the private retail trade industry in 2020: 

the number of cases fell 13.8 percent to 341,100 cases, and the rate declined from 3.4 in 2019 to 

3.1 cases per 100 FTE workers in 2020. At the same time, the DAFW case rate increased, rising 

from 1.0 per 100 FTE workers in 2019 to 1.1 cases in 2020. (See tables 2 and 3.) 

Additional Information

This news release is the first of two releases from BLS covering occupational safety and health statistics 

for the 2020 calendar year. The SOII presents estimates of counts and incidence rates of employer

reported nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses by industry and type of case, as well as detailed 

estimates of case circumstances and worker characteristics for cases that resulted in days away from 

work. A second release on December 16, 2021, will provide results from the Census of Fatal 

Occupational Injuries (CFOI) of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. 

Nonfatal occupational injury and illness estimates by industry and case type are available at 

www.bls.gov/web/osh/summ1_00.htm and www.bls.gov/web/osh/summ2_00.htm. Tables including crosstabulations for various case circumstances and worker characteristics are available at 

www.bls.gov/web/osh.supp.toc.htm. 

Incidence rates and counts by industry and case type published by the Survey of Occupational Injuries 

and Illnesses (SOII) are rounded. However, estimates, percent changes, and significant changes are 

determined using unrounded data. www.bls.gov/iif/rounding-published-estimates.htm

Incidence rates for days away from work cases are published per 10,000 full-time employees. Incidence 

rates per 10,000 workers can be converted to rates per 100 workers by moving the decimal point left, 

two places, and rounding the resulting rate to the nearest tenth. Data users are cautioned to account for 

different levels of precision when analyzing estimates presented in this release. 

BLS has generated estimates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses for many industries as 

defined in the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) manual. Estimates of 

nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses have been generated for many occupations as defined in the 

2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) manual. For additional information on nonfatal injury 

and illness estimates, see www.bls.gov/iif/soii-overview.htm. 

The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses relies on OSHA recordkeeping requirements, which 

mandate employers record certain work-related injuries and illnesses on their OSHA 300 log, including 

the recording of cases of COVID-19. (See www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2020-05-19). 

For cases resulting in days away from work, COVID-19 cases were coded in Nature code 3299 – “Other 

diseases due to viruses, not elsewhere classified.” (See www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-onworkplace-injuries-and-illnesses-compensation-and-occupational-requirements.htm) 

All statements of comparison made in this news release are statistically significant at the 95 percent 

confidence level. Additional background and methodological information regarding the BLS 

occupational safety and health statistics program is located in the BLS Handbook of Methods at 

www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/home.htm. Additional data from the SOII are available on the BLS website at 

www.bls.gov/iif, from BLS staff at (202) 691-6170, or by email at IIFSTAFF@bls.gov. Information in 
5

this release is available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; 

Federal Relay Service: (800) 877- 8339.
Year Total cases(1) Injuries Illnesses Respiratory illnesses

2016 2,857.4 2,719.8 137.5 11.0

2017 2,811.5 2,685.1 126.4 10.4

2018 2,834.5 2,707.8 126.8 12.1

2019 2,814.0 2,686.8 127.2 10.8

2020 2,654.7 2,110.1 544.6 428.7

Footnotes:

(1) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees.

TABLE 1. Counts of total nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses, injuries, illnesses, 

and respiratory illnesses, private industry, 2016-20 (thousands)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Survey of Occupational 

Injuries and Illnesses, in cooperation with participating state agencies.

6
2019 2020 2019 2020

Private industry(4) 2.8 2.7 0.9 1.2

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting(4) 5.2 4.6 1.7 1.9

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction(5) 1.2 1.2 0.5 0.6

Utilities 2.2 1.5 0.7 0.6

Construction 2.8 2.5 1.1 1.1

Manufacturing 3.3 3.1 0.9 1.1

Wholesale trade 2.7 2.4 1.0 1.0

Retail trade 3.4 3.1 1.0 1.1

Transportation and warehousing(6) 4.4 4.0 2.0 1.9

Information 1.2 0.8 0.5 0.4

Finance and insurance 0.5 0.3 0.1 0.1

Real estate and rental and leasing 2.3 2.1 0.7 0.9

Professional, scientific, and technical services 0.8 0.7 0.2 0.2

Management of companies and enterprises 0.7 0.6 0.2 0.2

Administrative and support and waste management and 

 remediation services – 2.0 – 0.9

Educational services 2.0 1.1 0.6 0.4

Health care and social assistance 3.8 5.5 1.0 3.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation 4.0 3.0 1.1 1.0

Accommodation and food services 3.2 2.6 0.9 0.8

Other services (except public administration) 2.0 1.8 0.7 0.9

Footnotes:

Note: Dash indicates data do not meet publication guidelines, data may be too small to be displayed.

TABLE 2. Incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by selected industry and case types,

private industry, 2019-20

Cases with days away from 

work Total recordable cases (2),(3)

(2)

Industry(1)

(1) Data are coded using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For more information on the version of

NAICS used in this year, see our Handbook of Methods concepts page: https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/concepts.htm.

(2) The incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers and were calculated as:

(N/EH) x 200,000, where N = number of injuries and illnesses; EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar

year; 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year).

(3) Days-away-from-work cases include those that result in days away from work with or without job

transfer or restriction.

(4) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees.

(5) Data for Mining (Sector 21 in the North American Industry Classification System) include establishments not governed by

the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction and related

support activities. Data for mining operators in coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are provided to BLS by the Mine Safety and

Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Independent mining contractors are excluded from the coal, metal, and

nonmetal mining industries. These data do not reflect changes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration made to

its recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002; therefore, estimates for these industries are not comparable to

estimates of other industries.

(6) Data for employers in rail transportation are provided to BLS by the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S.

Department of Transportation.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, in cooperation

with participating state agencies.

7
2019 2020 2019 2020 2020

Private industry(3) 2,814.0 2,654.7 888.2 1,176.3 390.0

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting(3) 50.9 45.9 17.0 18.8 2.1

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction(4) 9.4 7.5 4.2 4.0 0.1

Utilities 12.0 8.4 3.7 3.4 0.4

Construction 200.1 174.1 79.7 74.5 4.7

Manufacturing 421.4 373.3 116.1 135.9 30.5

Wholesale trade 153.6 132.2 55.5 56.5 8.6

Retail trade 395.7 341.1 120.2 125.6 19.1

Transportation and warehousing(5) 227.9 206.9 103.6 99.8 3.9

Information 31.6 19.6 13.0 10.2 0.4

Finance and insurance 26.1 17.4 7.5 7.8 2.1

Real estate and rental and leasing 46.2 41.8 14.9 17.1 2.9

Professional, scientific, and technical services 72.8 59.5 17.2 16.9 4.4

Management of companies and enterprises 16.9 14.9 4.7 4.8 1.2

Administrative and support and 

 waste management and remediation services – 103.4 – 46.9 7.0

Educational services 38.6 22.5 12.1 7.7 0.9

Health care and social assistance 575.2 806.2 151.4 447.9 288.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation 56.4 34.3 15.3 11.5 1.0

Accommodation and food services 288.7 191.0 82.9 60.9 8.6

Other services (except public administration) 64.6 54.7 21.8 26.2 3.3

Footnotes:

(3) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees.

Note: Dash indicates data do not meet publication 

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Survey of Occupational Injuries and 

Illnesses, in cooperation with participating state agencies.

TABLE 3. Number of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by selected industry and case types, private industry, 

2019-20 (thousands)

(6) Data are coded using Occupational Injury and Illness Classification system. This coding applies only to cases resulting in

days away from work. For more information, see our manual page: https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshoiics.htm.

(4) Data for Mining (Sector 21 in the North American Industry Classification System) include establishments not governed

by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction and

related support activities. Data for mining operators in coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are provided to BLS by the Mine

Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Independent mining contractors are excluded from the coal,

metal, and nonmetal mining industries. These data do not reflect changes the Occupational Safety and Health

Administration made to its recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002; therefore, estimates for these

industries are not comparable to estimates of other industries.

(1) Data are coded using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For more information on the version

of NAICS used in this year, see our Handbook of Methods concepts page:

https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/concepts.htm.

Other diseases 

due to viruses 

not elsewhere

 classified(6)

Industry(1)

Total recordable 

cases

Cases with days away 

from work(2)

(5) Data for employers in rail transportation are provided to BLS by the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S.

Department of Transportation.

(2) Days-away-from-work cases include those that result in days away from work with or without job

transfer or restriction.

8
Number Rate(2) Median 

DAFW

Number Rate(2) Median 

DAFW

Nursing assistants 27,590 283.5 6 96,480 1,023.8 12

Registered nurses 20,150 102.1 8 78,740 390.6 13

Laborers and freight, stock and material movers, hand 64,160 275.5 12 64,930 289.8 14

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers 47,990 280.0 19 43,500 259.7 23

Stockers and order fillers 27,390 176.3 10 31,280 - 13

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses 5,350 109.5 8 29,230 608.4 12

Retail salespersons 24,870 80.2 8 28,110 106.6 11

Personal care aides 14,960 – 6 27,750 – 12

Production workers, all other 25,110 – 8 26,850 – 10

Maintenance and repair workers, general 21,490 204.6 12 23,400 241.9 10

Footnotes:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, in cooperation with 

participating state agencies.

TABLE 4. Number, incidence rates, and median days for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from 

work (DAFW), selected occupations, private industry, 2019-20

Occupation(1)

2019 2020

(1) Data are coded using the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). For more information on the version of SOC used in this

year, see our Handbook of Methods concepts page: https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/concepts.htm.

(2) The incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 10,000 full-time workers and were calculated as:

(N/EH) x 20,000,000, where N = number of injuries and illnesses; EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar

year; 20,000,000 = base for 10,000 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks

per year).

Note: Dash indicates data do not meet publication guidelines, data may be too small to be displayed.

–

–

–

9
2019 2020 2019 2020

Health care and social assistance 101.1 304.3 151,410 447,890

Nursing and residential care facilities 170.9 791.7 44,020 205,780

Hospitals 129.7 371.7 52,140 148,360

Ambulatory health care services 53.5 121.4 32,050 70,110

Social assistance 97.0 100.5 23,210 23,630

Footnotes:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Survey of Occupational Injuries and 

Illnesses, in cooperation with participating state agencies.

TABLE 5. Numbers and incidence rates for cases resulting in days away from work of nonfatal 

occupational injuries and illnesses in selected private health care and social assistance industries, 

2019-20

Industry(1) Rate(2) Number

(1) Data are coded using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For more

information on the version of NAICS used in this year, see our Handbook of Methods concepts

page: https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/concepts.htm.

(2) The incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 10,000 full-time workers

and were calculated as:

(N/EH) x 20,000,000, where N = number of injuries and illnesses; EH = total hours worked by all

employees during the calendar year; 20,000,000 = base for 10,000 equivalent full-time workers

(working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year).

10