Connecticut finds itself ahead of the national average for workplace injuries by a slight margin. It is one of three New England states above average with Vermont and Maine posting the highest numbers nationally.
The nearly 3 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers in 2014 occurred at a rate of 3.2 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, according to estimates from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report was issued by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Connecticut has a rate of 3.5 injuries and illnesses. Maine is highest in the nation at 5.3 with Vermont second at 5. Data was not available for eight states, including New Hampshire.
Private industry employers reported nearly 54,000 fewer nonfatal injury and illness cases in 2014 compared to a year earlier. Because of this decline combined with an increase in reported hours worked, the total recordable cases (TRC) incidence rate fell 0.1 cases per 100 full-time workers.
Nationally, of the nearly 3 million nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in 2014, 2.8 million (95.1 percent) were injuries. Among injuries, nearly 2.1 million (75 percent) occurred in service providing industries, which employed 82.4 percent of the private industry workforce. The remaining nearly 0.7 million injuries (25 percent) occurred in goods-producing industries, which accounted for 17.6 percent of private industry employment.
