Injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work by age in 2008

The overall rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work was 113 per 10,000 full-time workers in 2008, a decrease of 7 percent from 2007.

[Chart data]

Workers who were 20 to 24 years of age had a days-away-from-work rate of 119 cases per 10,000 full-time workers, which was a decrease of 11 percent from 2007.

The only age group with an increase in the rate (7 percent) was workers 65 years old and older. For this age group, there was a 23-percent increase in the number of injury and illness cases for transportation and material moving occupations to 6,190. The number of cases in all other occupation groups either increased or did not significantly change from 2007 for this age group.

Workers age 65 and over experienced the longest absences from work in 2008, with a median of 15 days, 1 day less than in 2007.

These data are from the BLS Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. Additional information is available from "Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Requiring Days Away from Work, 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 09-1454.