In 2023, nonfatal worker injuries and illnesses declined from 2022 levels, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced November 8. Private sector employers reported 2.6 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2023—a decrease of 8.4% from 2022, the BLS reported in its annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII).

The decrease was driven by a 56.6% drop in workplace illnesses to 200,100 cases in 2023—the lowest number since 2019, reflecting a 72.6% decrease in respiratory illness cases, which are down to 100,200 cases in 2023.

The incidence rate of respiratory illness in the healthcare and social assistance sector decreased to 44.1 cases per 10,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers in 2023—down from 134.8 in 2022. The rate decreased to 9.1 cases per 10,000 FTE workers in the retail trade—down from 67.3 in 2022.

“Today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that the rate of recordable workplace injuries and illnesses in 2023 fell to its lowest level going back to 2003,” Douglas Parker, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, said in an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) statement.

“We are encouraged by these significant improvements in injury and illness rates in 2023,” he continued. “Looking at the BLS report and our own recent analysis showing fewer worker deaths in OSHA’s purview, our formula of strong enforcement combined with collaboration between government, labor, and the private sector to make workplace safety and health as a core value is making a difference in the lives of America’s workers.”

The BLS’s annual survey of nonfatal injuries and illnesses is compiled using data from employer records of injuries and illnesses captured in their OSHA 300 logs.

The incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRCs) in private industry for 2023 was 2.4 cases per 100 FTE workers—down from 2.7 in 2022. The total recordable injuries and illnesses for health care and social assistance decreased to 562,500 cases in 2023—down from 665,300 in 2022, according to the BLS.

Other highlights in the bureau’s 2023 SOII included:

• Nonfatal injuries and illnesses involving days away from work (DAFW) in 2023 were 20.1% lower than in 2022.
• The rate of cases involving DAFW, job restriction, or transfer (DART) was 0.6 cases per 100 FTE workers.
• The total recordable injuries and illnesses decreased in private sector health care and social assistance to 562,500 cases, down from 665,300 in 2022.
• Cases in manufacturing also declined in 2023 to 355,800, down from 396,800 cases in 2022, and cases in the retail trade fell by 68,800 from 2022 to 353,900 in 2023.
• Total injury cases in private industry (2,368,900) were essentially unchanged from 2022.
• Injuries in health care and social assistance increased by 27,800 cases to 471,600 in 2023.
• Injuries decreased in two sectors in 2023: Injury cases in manufacturing decreased by 21,400 cases to 326,400 in 2023, and injuries in the wholesale trade fell by 11,900 to 127,000 cases.