BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

01/26/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/26/2022 10:34

Employer-reported workplace injuries and illnesses in Illinois — 2020

News Release Information

22-39-CHI
Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Private industry employers reported 106,900 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in Illinois in 2020, resulting in an incidence rate of 2.7 cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that Illinois was among 10 states that had an incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRC) similar to the national rate of 2.7. (See Technical Note at the end of this release for more information about the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.)

Illinois' findings from the 2020 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses include:

  • TRC incidence rates in private industry ranged from 0.5 in financial activities to 5.9 in education and health services. (See table 1.)

  • Two supersectors, with 42 percent of private industry employment, accounted for 63 percent of the occupational injuries and illnesses: education and health services and trade, transportation, and utilities. (See table 2.)

  • In private industry, the TRC injury and illness incidence rate ranged from 0.8 for establishments employing fewer than 11 workers to 3.7 for establishments employing 50 to 249 workers. (See table 3.)

  • Illinois' private industry TRC rate of 2.7 in 2020 was significantly higher than the 2019 rate of 2.5. (See table 4.)


Characteristic United States Illinois
Number
(in thousands)
Rate Number
(in thousands)
Rate

Total cases

2,654.7 2.7 106.9 2.7

Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction

1,702.0 1.7 74.1 1.9

Cases with days away from work

1,176.3 1.2 54.4 1.4

Cases with job transfer or restriction

525.6 0.5 19.7 0.5

Other recordable cases

952.7 1.0 32.8 0.8

Note: Due to rounding, components may not add to totals.

Private industry injury and illness case types

Of the 106,900 private industry injury and illness cases reported in Illinois, 74,100 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 1.9 cases per 100 full-time workers. Seventy-three percent of the DART cases in Illinois were incidents that resulted in at least one day away from work, compared to 69 percent nationally. Other recordable cases (those not involving days away from work, job transfer, or restriction) accounted for the remaining 32,800 cases in Illinois, at a rate of 0.8. In comparison, the national rate for other recordable cases was 1.0.

In Illinois, the education and health services supersector and the information supersector each had significant increases in the TRC and DART incidence rates from the previous year. The leisure and hospitality supersector had a significant decrease in its TRC rate from the previous year. No other private industry supersector had a significant change in its TRC or DART rate from the previous year.

In 2020, 78,500 (73.4 percent) of private industry recordable injuries and illnesses were injuries. Workplace illnesses accounted for an additional 28,400 recordable cases.

State and local government injury and illness cases

In the state and local government sector in Illinois, 21,500 injury and illness cases were reported in 2020, resulting in a rate of 4.1 cases per 100 full-time workers. Nationally, the rate was 3.9. Eighty-seven percent of injuries and illnesses reported in Illinois' public sector occurred among local government workers.

State estimates

Private industry estimates are available for 41 participating states and for the District of Columbia for 2020. The private industry injury and illness rate was statistically higher in 20 states than the national rate of 2.7 cases per 100 full-time workers, lower in 11 states and in the District of Columbia, and not statistically different in 10 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

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."


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: (202)-691-5200; 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

2.8 1.9 1.5 0.5 0.9

Private industry

2.7 1.9 1.4 0.5 0.8

Goods-producing

2.8 2.1 1.2 0.9 0.8

Natural resources and mining

3.0 2.6 1.7 0.8 0.5

Construction

2.1 1.5 1.1 0.5 0.6

Manufacturing

3.1 2.2 1.2 1.1 0.8

Service-providing

2.6 1.8 1.4 0.4 0.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

2.9 2.0 1.4 0.6 0.9

Information

1.5 1.5 1.3 0.2 -

Financial activities

0.5 0.2 0.1 - 0.3

Professional and business services

0.8 0.5 0.3 0.1 0.3

Education and health services

5.9 4.3 3.8 0.5 1.6

Leisure and hospitality

2.4 1.2 0.7 0.5 1.2

Other services, except public administration

1.1 0.9 0.5 0.4 0.2

State and local government

4.1 2.5 2.3 0.2 1.6

State government

3.5 2.7 2.4 0.3 0.7

Local government

4.2 2.5 2.3 0.2 1.7

Note: Due to rounding, components may not add to totals. Dash indicates data not available.

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

128.4 87.3 66.6 20.8 41.1

Private industry

106.9 74.1 54.4 19.7 32.8

Goods-producing

21.8 15.9 8.9 7.0 5.9

Natural resources and mining

0.5 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.1

Construction

4.2 3.1 2.1 0.9 1.1

Manufacturing

17.1 12.4 6.5 5.9 4.7

Service-providing

85.1 58.2 45.5 12.7 26.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

28.4 19.6 13.4 6.2 8.8

Information

1.2 1.2 1.0 0.2 -

Financial activities

1.8 0.6 0.5 0.1 1.2

Professional and business services

5.7 3.3 2.4 0.9 2.3

Education and health services

39.0 28.5 25.3 3.2 10.5

Leisure and hospitality

7.4 3.7 2.1 1.5 3.7

Other services, except public administration

1.6 1.4 0.7 0.6 0.3

State and local government

21.5 13.2 12.1 1.1 8.3

State government

2.9 2.3 2.1 0.2 0.6

Local government

18.6 10.9 10.1 0.8 7.7

Note: Due to rounding, components may not add to totals. Dash indicates data not available.

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

2.8 0.8 1.9 3.7 3.2 3.5

Private industry

2.7 0.8 1.8 3.7 2.8 3.5

Goods-producing

2.8 - 2.3 3.1 2.9 3.4

Natural resources and mining

3.0 - 3.4 3.3 5.3 -

Construction

2.1 - 1.9 1.9 2.0 -

Manufacturing

3.1 - 2.6 3.5 3.0 3.4

Service-providing

2.6 0.6 1.6 3.8 2.8 3.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

2.9 - 2.3 3.5 3.8 3.8

Information

1.5 - - 3.4 0.3 -

Financial activities

0.5 - - - 0.4 0.1

Professional and business services

0.8 - 0.6 1.2 0.8 0.6

Education and health services

5.9 - 1.9 9.5 6.0 5.6

Leisure and hospitality

2.4 - 2.5 2.9 3.1 1.8

Other services, except public administration

1.1 - 1.0 2.0 0.9 -

State and local government

4.1 - - 3.9 5.9 3.2

State government

3.5 - - 8.3 5.6 1.8

Local government

4.2 - - 3.7 5.9 3.7

Note: Dash indicates data not available.

Industry Total recordable cases Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction
2019 2020 2019 2020

All industries including state and local government

2.7 2.8 1.5 1.9*

Private industry

2.5 2.7* 1.4 1.9*

Goods-producing

3.3 2.8* 2.2 2.1

Natural resources and mining

5.3 3.0 2.6 2.6

Construction

2.3 2.1 1.4 1.5

Manufacturing

3.5 3.1 2.4 2.2

Service-providing

2.3 2.6* 1.3 1.8*

Trade, transportation, and utilities

3.2 2.9 2.0 2.0

Information

0.3 1.5* 0.1 1.5*

Financial activities

0.5 0.5 0.2 0.2

Professional and business services

0.8 0.8 0.4 0.5

Education and health services

3.4 5.9* 1.6 4.3*

Leisure and hospitality

3.4 2.4* 1.4 1.2

Other services, except public administration

1.4 1.1 1.0 0.9

State and local government

4.2 4.1 2.0 2.5

State government

4.8 3.5 3.5 2.7

Local government

4.0 4.2 1.7 2.5

Note: An asterisk (*) indicates a significant difference between the current year and prior year values, when testing at 95% confidence level.