Printing Industry Workplace Injury and Illness Rate Posts Another Low, According to the BLS
Workplace injury and illness rates for manufacturing facilities declined once again in 2020. This is a positive trend that has been occurring over the past decade. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), private industry employers reported 2.7 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2020, down from 2.8 million in 2019, a decrease of 5.7 percent. In 2020, the incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRC) in private industry was 2.7 cases per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers.
The numbers would have been even lower, except infections from COVID-19 caused an increase in reported illnesses. Injury cases decreased 22 percent. At the same time, total reported illness cases more than quadrupled driven by a nearly 4,000 percent increase in employer reported respiratory illness cases in 2020.
Injury and illness rates for printing and publishing also dropped and remained lower than those for manufacturing. Table 1 provides more detailed information on injury and illness rates for the entire printing and related support activities (NAICS 323) as compared to manufacturing. Table 2 provides information on total injuries and illnesses for the entire printing and related support activities.
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
If you are interested in previous years' data, please see PRINTING United Alliance’s web page at Business Excellence-EHS. For a copy of the BLS report, Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, visit U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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- Business Management - Industry Trends
Gary A. Jones is the Vice President of Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Affairs at PRINTING United Alliance. His primary responsibility is to monitor and analyze EHS and sustainability related legislative and regulatory activities at the federal and state levels, including some international actions. He provides representation on behalf of the printing, packaging, and graphic arts industry. Mr. Jones works closely with the federal and state-level Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and other agencies. He also provides membership assistance on EHS compliance and sustainability programs through a variety of approaches including responding to inquiries, presentations, writing, and consulting services.
Mr. Jones is also supporting PRINTING United Alliance’s efforts for the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP). SGP is dedicated to assisting printing operations respond to customer demands for sustainable printing.
He holds a BS in biology from LaRoche College and an MS in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh.
