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"Labor Market Information (LMI) is an applied science; it is the systematic collection and analysis of data which describes and predicts the relationship between labor demand and supply." The States' Labor Market Information Review, ICESA, 1995, p. 7.

2022 Wyoming Workforce Annual Report

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Wyoming Labor Force Trends

February 2023 | Volume 60, No. 2


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Workplace Injuries and Illnesses: Comparing Incidence Rates in Wyoming to the U.S.

Article | Tables and Figures


by: Chris McGrath, Senior Statistician


In Wyoming and nationally, many of the subsectors with the highest rates of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were found in health care & social assistance. This is due in part to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 SOII is a mandatory survey sent to approximately 2,500 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

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.

Analysis

Wyoming’s nonfatal occupational injury and illness incidence rate for all industries in 2021 was 3.1, compared to 3.3 in 2020. The overall incidence rate for the U.S. in 2021 was 2.9.

Figure 1 and Figure 2 illustrate the top nine subsectors with the highest incidence rates in Wyoming and the U.S., respectively. Many of the same subsectors were included in the top nine for both Wyoming and the U.S. For example, local government nursing & residential care facilities had incidence rates of 14.0 in Wyoming and 8.6 nationally. Private nursing & residential care facilities had incidence rates of 8.6 in Wyoming and 7.3 in the U.S., and private hospitals had incidence rates of 6.3 in Wyoming and 6.1 nationally.

The high incidence rates in health care & social assistance subsectors in Wyoming and the U.S. continue to be driven by respiratory illnesses, which includes reported COVID-19 pandemic-related illnesses. A confirmed case of COVID-19 was considered an OSHA recordable illness if a worker was infected as a result of performing their work-related duties and the employee received treatment beyond first aid and/or had days away from work (U.S. Department of Labor, 2021).

Some non-health care subsectors also were found in the top nine with the highest incidence rates for both Wyoming and the U.S. Couriers & messengers had incidence rates of 5.3 in Wyoming and 7.1 nationally, while state government justice, public order, safety activities had incidence rates of 3.0 in Wyoming and 6.2 in the U.S.

Some subsectors that appeared in the top nine for Wyoming but not in the U.S. included accommodation (4.4), heavy & civil engineering construction (3.5), local government hospitals (5.1), and social assistance (2.8).

Historically, the top subsectors with the highest injury and illness rates in Wyoming and the U.S. have not been as similar as they were in 2021. However, the COVID-19 pandemic provided an exceptional commonality in incidence rates in Wyoming and the U.S. as well as the industries affected.

References

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 November 15, 2022, from https://doe.state.wy.us/lmi/trends/0521/0521.pdf#page=11

U.S. Department of Labor. (2021, July). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Regulations. Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/standards