Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in North Carolina — 2019

News Release Information

20-2254-ATL
Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Over 69,000 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported among North Carolina's private industry employers in 2019, resulting in an incidence rate of 2.3 cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that North Carolina was among 14 states and the District of Columbia that had an incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRC) significantly lower than the national rate of 2.8. (North Carolina was 1 of 41 states and the District of Columbia for which statewide estimates are available. See Technical Noteat the end of this release for more information about the survey.)

North Carolina's findings from the 2019 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses include:

• TRC incidence rates in private industry ranged from 0.7 in financial activities to 3.6 in natural resources and mining. (See table 1.)

• Two supersectors, with 38 percent of private industry employment, accounted for 49 percent of the occupational injuries and illnesses: trade, transportation, and utilities and education and health services. (See table 2.)

• In private industry, the TRC injury and illness incidence rate ranged from 1.0 for establishments employing fewer than 11 workers to 3.1 for establishments employing 50 to 249 workers. (See table 3.)

• North Carolina's private industry TRC rate of 2.3 in 2019 was similar to the 2018 rate. (See table 4.)

Characteristic	United States		North Carolina
	Number (in thousands)	Rate (per 100 workers)	Number (in thousands)	Rate (per 100 workers)
Total cases	2,814.0	2.8	69.4	2.3
Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction	1,558.2	1.5	36.6	1.2
Cases with days away from work	888.2	0.9	19.1	0.6
Cases with job transfer or restriction	670.0	0.7	17.5	0.6
Other recordable cases	1,255.7	1.2	32.8	1.1
Note: Because of rounding, components may not add to totals.

Private industry injury and illness case types

Of the 69,400 private industry injury and illness cases reported in North Carolina, 36,600 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 1.2 cases per 100 full-time workers. Fifty-two percent of the DART cases in North Carolina 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 32,800 cases in North Carolina, at a rate of 1.1. In comparison, the national rate for other recordable cases was 1.2.

In North Carolina, the construction supersector had a significant decrease in both the TRC and DART incidence rates from the previous year. The education and health services sector also had a significant decrease in its TRC incidence rate from 2018, while the information sector had a significant decrease in its DART rate from the previous year. No other private industry supersector had a significant change in its TRC or DART rate over the year.

In 2019, approximately 66,500 (95.8 percent) of private industry recordable injuries and illnesses were injuries. Workplace illnesses accounted for an additional 2,900 recordable cases.

State and local government injury and illness cases

In the state and local government sector in North Carolina, 19,300 injury and illness cases were reported in 2019, resulting in a rate of 3.8 cases per 100 full-time workers. Nationally, the rate was 4.6. Eighty-two percent of injuries and illnesses reported in North Carolina's public sector occurred among local government workers.

State estimates

Private industry and public sector estimates are available for 41 participating states and for the District of Columbia for 2019. The private industry injury and illness rate was statistically higher in 20 states than the national rate of 2.8 cases per 100 full-time workers, lower in 14 states and in the District of Columbia, and not statistically different in 7 states. (See chart 1.) Caution should be taken when comparing rates among different states as some differences can be attributed to different industry composition within each state.

View Chart Data

Technical Note

The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) is a Federal/State cooperative program that publishes estimates on nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses. Each year, approximately 200,000 employers report for establishments in private industry and the public sector (state and local government). In-scope cases include work-related injuries or illnesses to workers who require medical care beyond first aid. See the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the entire recordkeeping guidelines. The SOII excludes all work-related fatalities as well as nonfatal work injuries and illnesses to the self-employed, to workers on farms with 10 or fewer employees, to private household workers, to volunteers, and to federal government workers. For more information on the scope and sampling methodology see the SOII Handbook of Methods.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: [phone]; Federal Relay Service: (800)-877-8339.

Industry	Total recordable cases	Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction			Other recordable cases
		Total	Cases with days away from work	Cases with job transfer or restriction
All industries including state and local government	2.5	1.3	0.7	0.6	1.2
Private industry	2.3	1.2	0.6	0.6	1.1
Goods-producing	2.4	1.4	0.6	0.7	1.0
Natural resources and mining	3.6	2.4	1.1	1.3	1.2
Construction	1.6	0.8	0.5	0.4	0.7
Manufacturing	2.7	1.5	0.6	0.9	1.1
Service-providing	2.2	1.1	0.6	0.5	1.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3.0	1.9	1.0	0.9	1.1
Information	0.9	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6
Financial activities	0.7	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.4
Professional and business services	1.3	0.6	0.4	0.2	0.7
Education and health services	2.8	1.2	0.5	0.7	1.6
Leisure and hospitality	2.7	1.1	0.7	0.4	1.6
Other services, except public administration	1.7	0.9	0.8	0.1	0.7
State and local government	3.8	2.0	0.9	1.1	1.8
State government	2.3	1.3	0.7	0.5	1.0
Local government	4.4	2.3	1.0	1.3	2.2
Note: Because of rounding, components may not add up to totals. Dashes indicate data not available. 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; and 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year). 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: www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/concepts.htm.

Industry	Total recordable cases	Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction			Other recordable cases
		Total	Cases with days away from work	Cases with job transfer or restriction
All industries including state and local government	88.8	46.7	23.7	23.0	42.1
Private industry	69.4	36.6	19.1	17.5	32.8
Goods-producing	17.0	9.7	4.4	5.4	7.2
Natural resources and mining	0.9	0.6	0.3	0.3	0.3
Construction	3.4	1.8	1.0	0.8	1.6
Manufacturing	12.6	7.3	3.0	4.2	5.4
Service-providing	52.5	26.9	14.7	12.2	25.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	20.6	13.1	6.8	6.3	7.6
Information	0.6	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.4
Financial activities	1.6	0.6	0.3	0.3	1.0
Professional and business services	6.2	2.9	1.9	1.0	3.3
Education and health services	13.3	5.8	2.5	3.2	7.5
Leisure and hospitality	8.7	3.5	2.3	1.2	5.2
Other services, except public administration	1.5	0.8	0.7	0.1	0.6
State and local government	19.3	10.1	4.6	5.4	9.3
State government	3.4	1.9	1.1	0.8	1.5
Local government	15.9	8.1	3.5	4.6	7.8
Note: Because of rounding, components may not add up to totals. Dashes indicate data not available. 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: www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/concepts.htm.

Industry	All establishments	Establishment employment size (workers)
		1 to 10	11 to 49	50 to 249	250 to 999	1,000 or more
All industries including state and local government	2.5	1.0	1.9	3.2	2.5	3.0
Private industry	2.3	1.0	1.8	3.1	2.3	2.4
Goods-producing	2.4	0.5	2.1	3.4	2.1	1.9
Natural resources and mining	3.6		3.3	5.0	4.9	-
Construction	1.6	-	1.5	2.5	1.9	1.1
Manufacturing	2.7	-	2.8	3.6	2.0	2.0
Service-providing	2.2	1.1	1.8	3.0	2.4	2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3.0	1.8	1.9	3.7	4.0	5.6
Information	0.9		-	1.6	0.8	-
Financial activities	0.7	0.5	1.3	1.2	0.3	0.2
Professional and business services	1.3	-	1.3	2.1	0.9	0.5
Education and health services	2.8	-	1.8	3.2	3.6	3.8
Leisure and hospitality	2.7	-	2.4	3.5	4.6	2.4
Other services, except public administration	1.7	-	-	3.4	0.9	-
State and local government	3.8	-	3.7	3.8	3.7	3.9
State government	2.3	-	4.1	0.5	1.5	2.7
Local government	4.4	-	3.7	4.0	4.6	5.0
Note: Because of rounding, components may not add to totals. Dashes indicate data not available. 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; and 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year). 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: www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/concepts.htm.

Industry	Total recordable cases		Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction
	2018	2019	2018	2019
All industries including state and local government	2.6	2.5	1.4	1.3*
Private industry	2.4	2.3	1.3	1.2
Goods-producing	2.8	2.4*	1.7	1.4*
Natural resources and mining	3.7	3.6	3.0	2.4
Construction	2.5	1.6*	1.6	0.8*
Manufacturing	2.8	2.7	1.6	1.5
Service-providing	2.3	2.2	1.2	1.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3.1	3.0	2.0	1.9
Information	1.3	0.9	0.8	0.3*
Financial activities	1.0	0.7	0.7	0.3
Professional and business services	1.3	1.3	0.6	0.6
Education and health services	3.2	2.8*	1.4	1.2
Leisure and hospitality	2.4	2.7	1.0	1.1
Other services, except public administration	1.3	1.7	1.0	0.9
State and local government	3.9	3.8	1.8	2.0*
State government	2.3	2.3	1.2	1.3*
Local government	4.5	4.4	2.0	2.3*
Note: Dashes indicate data not available. 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; and 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year). * An asterisk indicates a significant difference between the current year and prior year values, when testing at 95% confidence level. 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: www.bls.gov/opub/hom/soii/concepts.htm.