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Wyoming Labor Force Trends

December 2024 | Volume 61, No. 12


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Results of the 2023 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses

Article | Figures

by: Chris McGrath, Senior Statistician

 

This article summarizes the results from the 2023 Wyoming Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. The data include estimates of incidence rates by industry and major industry sector. An estimated 2,600 nonfatal occupational injury and illness cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction occurred in private industry in Wyoming in 2023, with an incidence rate of 2.7 per 100 workers (note: this excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees).

The Survey of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses (SOII) for Wyoming is conducted annually by the Research & Planning (R&P) section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The SOII identifies incidence rates of work-related injuries and illnesses at the industry level and is part of a nationwide data collection effort to help measure the effectiveness of governmental efforts to reduce the number of work-related injuries and illnesses (McGrath, 2021).The data collected for the cases with days away from work can be used by employers and safety awareness groups to focus on prevention. The data are also used by regulatory agencies for tracking injury and illness trends, and to target safety resources.

The SOII is a mandatory survey sent to randomly selected companies in Wyoming. These selected companies were notified a year earlier to track work-related injuries and illnesses by maintaining OSHA 300 forms. Data are collected the following year, and the collection period lasts seven months. The results are then reviewed by state, regional, and national BLS staff, after which incidence rates are calculated.

A work-related injury or illness is considered an OSHA recordable case if it results in one or more of the following:

  • Death
  • Days away from work
  • Restricted work or transfer to another job
  • Medical treatment beyond first aid
  • Loss of consciousness

A significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.

Incidence rates indicate the number of nonfatal occupational illnesses or injuries per 100 full-time employees. The cases deemed the most serious are those that involve days away from work. Instances in which employees do not require time off from work beyond the day of injury are not included as days away from work cases. The number of cases with days of restricted duty or job transfer is counted in the summary of injuries and/or illnesses. Other recordable cases are also counted in the summary of injuries and/or illnesses, which are cases requiring medical treatment beyond first aid but with no lost time, restricted duty, or job transfer days.

Incidence rates are calculated for goods-producing and service-providing industries in the public and private sectors. Industries are classified using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), a hierarchal six-digit coding system. The first two digits identify sectors and the third digit identifies the subsector. For this article, incidence rates were calculated at the three-digit subsector level. Box 1 provides a sample of the NAICS structure for health care & social assistance sector, which is given the NAICS code of 62.

Figure 1 compares incidence rates for the U.S. private sector, and Wyoming private and public sectors. Private industry encompasses both the goods-producing and service-providing sectors. The incidence rate for the U.S. private sector in 2023 was 2.4 and 2.7 for Wyoming. U.S. private industry employers reported 2.6 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2023, down 8.4% from 2022 (BLS, 2024). The public sector in Wyoming, which comprises state and local government, had an incidence rate of 3.0 in 2023 and 3.2 in 2022.

Figure 2 shows incidence rates for total nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by major industry sector in Wyoming for 2022 and 2023. The total estimated incidence rate in 2023 in Wyoming for all ownerships, including state and local government, was 2.8. Wyoming had an incidence rate of 2.7 in private industry in 2023 and an incidence rate of 3.0 in 2022. In 2023, construction had an incidence rate of 2.2 compared to 3.1 in 2022, while manufacturing had an incidence rate of 3.3 in 2023 and 4.1 in 2022. In service-providing sectors, education & health services had an incidence rate of 3.7 in 2023 and 4.8 in 2022. Leisure & hospitality had an incidence rate in 2023 of 3.8 and 3.3 in 2022.

In comparing incidence rates by major industry sector in Wyoming and the U.S., leisure & hospitality had an incidence rate of 3.8 in Wyoming and 2.9 in the U.S. (see Figure 3). In goods-producing sectors, the construction sector had an incidence rate of 2.2 in Wyoming and 2.3 in the U.S. Manufacturing had an incidence rate of 3.3 in Wyoming and 2.8 in the U.S.

Summary

From 2022 to 2023, incidence rates in private industry for total nonfatal occupational injuries & illnesses had no significant change at 3.0 and 2.7, respectively. Incidence rates in the major industry sectors also remained close with incidence rates in the U.S. More details on 2023 data, as well as further documentation and historical data are available at https://doe.state.wy.us/LMI/OSH/toc.htm.

References

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024, November). Employer-reported workplace injuries and illnesses (annual) news release. Retrieved November 8, 2024, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh.htm

McGrath, C. (2021, May). Results from the 2019 Wyoming Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Wyoming Labor Force Trends, 58(5). Research & Planning, WY DWS. Retrieved October 9,2024, from https://doe.state.wy.us/LMI/trends/0223/0223.pdf