Detailed nonfatal data starting in 2023-2024
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has transitioned from an annual to a biennial (every two years) publication schedule. The final publication of a single year of cases involving days away from work estimates was for reference year 2020. The most recent BLS detailed data covers 2023 and 2024 for Days Away from Work (DAFW), Days of Job Transfer or Restriction (DJTR), and Days Away from Work, Job Restriction, or Transfer (DART) cases.
New event categories starting in 2023
The BLS has updated the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System starting with the 2023 data year. The update includes changes to how injury and illness events are classified. This change is considered a data break, therefore, comparing counts to previous years is often unavailable and, when available, should be done with caution. Currently, 2024 fatality data are using the new classification categories, while the most recent nonfatal 2023-2024 data use the previous classification categories.
Use this interactive chart to explore musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) injury and illness trends. Injury and illness demographics show that 41% of DART cases and 37% of DAFW cases happen to females. The number of DART cases peak among 25- to 54-year-old workers, while the number of DAFW cases are more evenly distributed across 25- to 54-year-old workers. The healthcare and social assistance industry experienced the highest number of DAFW cases, while the transportation and warehousing industry experienced the highest number of DART cases. Use the filters to explore DART and DAFW trends by industry, occupation, part of body injured, event or exposure, and nature or type of injury. The data on nonfatal cases cover occupational injuries and illnesses and come from the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) for 2011-2024. From 2011 through 2020, annual estimates are available for the number of DAFW cases (with or without days of restricted work activity). Starting in 2021, biennial estimates are available for DAFW, DJTR, and DART cases. This page highlights both DAFW and DART estimates. The latest estimate period available reflects cases occurring in 2023 and 2024. Because DAFW data transitioned from annual reporting to biennial reporting in 2021, care should be used when comparing trends. In addition, BLS injury and illness definitions were updated starting with the 2023 data year, also potentially impacting comparisons over time. Explore the data details tab for additional information on demographics, industry, occupation, days lost, and historic trends.
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- Data Table
Source: National Safety Council analysis of BLS data.