Healthcare Workers Still More Likely to Be Injured at Work Than Those in Other Industries

​Workplace-related injuries continued to decline in 2015; however, healthcare workers once again became injured or incurred work-related illness at a much higher rate than those in other industries, according to an October 27, 2016, news release from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. The total number of recordable cases of nonfatal workplace-related injuries in private industry declined overall in 2015 for the 12th time in the past 13 years, from 3.2 to 3.0 injuries per 100 full-time workers. The healthcare and social assistance industry was one of six private industry sectors (along with mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; transportation and warehousing; finance and insurance; and accommodation and food services) to report a decline in work-related injuries and illnesses in 2015. However, in the private sector, the rate of nonfatal workplace injury was highest among all industries for workers in nursing and residential care facilities (6.8 cases per 100 full-time workers).