Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

20-166-ATL
Friday, January 31, 2020

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in North Carolina – 2018

North Carolina’s private industry employers reported 73,400 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2018, resulting in an incidence rate of 2.4 cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that North Carolina was among 12 states and the District of Columbia that had an incidence rate of total recordable cases (TRC) significantly lower than the national rate of 2.8. (North Carolina was 1 of 41 states and the District of Columbia for which statewide estimates are available. See Technical Note at the end of this release for more information about the survey.)

North Carolina’s findings from the 2018 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses include:

  • TRC incidence rates in private industry ranged from 1.0 in financial activities to 3.7 in natural resources and mining. (See table 1.)

  • Two supersectors, with about 38 percent of private industry employment, accounted for 49 percent of the occupational injuries and illnesses: trade, transportation, and utilities; and education and health services. (See table 2.)

  • In private industry, the TRC injury and illness incidence rate ranged from 1.0 for establishments employing fewer than 11 workers to 3.1 for establishments employing between 50 and 249 workers. (See table 3.)

  • North Carolina’s private industry TRC rate of 2.4 in 2018 was similar to the rate in 2017. (See table 4.)


Table A. Number and rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in private industry, United States and North Carolina, 2018
CharacteristicUnited StatesNorth Carolina
Number
(in thousands)
Rate
(per 100 workers)
Number
(in thousands)
Rate
(per 100 workers)

Total cases

2,834.52.873.42.4

Cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction

1,578.71.640.51.3

Cases with days away from work

900.40.921.50.7

Cases with job transfer or restriction

678.30.719.00.6

Other recordable cases

1,255.91.332.91.1

Note: Because of rounding, components may not add to totals.

Private industry injury and illness case types

Of the 73,400 private industry injury and illness cases reported in North Carolina, 40,500 were of a more severe nature, involving days away from work, job transfer, or restriction—commonly referred to as DART cases. These cases occurred at a rate of 1.3 cases per 100 full-time workers. Fifty-three percent of the DART cases in North Carolina were incidents that resulted in at least one day away from work, compared to 57 percent nationally. Other recordable cases (those not involving days away from work, job transfer, or restriction) accounted for the remaining 32,900 cases in North Carolina, at a rate of 1.1. In comparison, the national rate for other recordable cases was 1.3.

In North Carolina, the construction supersector had a significant increase in both the TRC and DART incidence rates from the previous year. The financial activities industry in North Carolina had a significant increase in the DART rate from 2017, while the manufacturing industry had a significant decline in the DART rate. No other private industry supersector had a significant change in its TRC or DART incidence rate over the year.

In 2018, 70,600 (96.2 percent) of private industry recordable injuries and illnesses were injuries. Workplace illnesses accounted for an additional 2,800 recordable cases. Three categories—skin disorders, hearing loss, and respiratory illnesses—accounted for 36 percent of the occupational illnesses in North Carolina. Nationally, these three categories amounted to 37 percent of the work-related illness total.

State and local government injury and illness cases

In the state and local government sector in North Carolina, 19,600 injury and illness cases were reported in 2018, resulting in a rate of 3.9 cases per 100 full-time workers. Nationally, the rate was 4.8. Over 83 percent of injuries and illnesses reported in North Carolina’s public sector occurred among local government workers.

State estimates

Private industry and public sector estimates are available for 41 participating states and for the District of Columbia for 2018. The private industry injury and illness rate was statistically higher in 22 states than the national rate of 2.8 cases per 100 full-time workers, lower in 12 states and in the District of Columbia, and not statistically different in 7 states. Caution should be taken when comparing rates among different states as some differences can be attributed to different industry composition within each state. (See chart 1.)


Technical Note

The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) is a Federal/State cooperative program that publishes estimates on nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses. Each year, approximately 200,000 employers report for establishments in private industry and the public sector (state and local government). In-scope cases include work-related injuries or illnesses to workers who require medical care beyond first aid. See the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the entire recordkeeping guidelines. The SOII excludes all work–related fatalities as well as nonfatal work injuries and illnesses to the self–employed; to workers on farms with 10 or fewer employees; to private household workers; to volunteers; and to federal government workers. For more information on the scope and sampling methodology see the SOII Handbook of Methods.

Additional occupational injury and illness data are available from our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/southeast.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202)-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800)-877-8339.

Table 1. Incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry sector and case type, North Carolina, 2018
Industry(1)(2)(3)Total recordable casesCases with days away from work, job transfer, or restrictionOther recordable cases
TotalCases with days away from work(4)Cases with job transfer or restriction

All industries including state and local government

2.61.40.70.71.2

Private industry

2.41.30.70.61.1

Goods-producing

2.81.70.80.91.1

Natural resources and mining

3.73.01.61.40.8

Construction

2.51.61.00.61.0

Manufacturing

2.81.60.71.01.2

Service-providing

2.31.20.70.61.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

3.12.01.10.91.1

Information

1.30.80.70.10.5

Financial activities

1.00.70.30.30.3

Professional and business services

1.30.60.40.20.8

Education and health services

3.21.40.60.81.8

Leisure and hospitality

2.41.00.70.31.4

Other services, except public administration

1.31.00.60.30.4

State and local government

3.91.80.80.92.1

State government

2.31.20.70.51.1

Local government

4.52.00.91.12.5

Footnotes:
(1) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees.
(2) Data for mining (Sector 21 in the North American Industry Classification System, 2012 edition) include establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction and related support activities. Data for mining operators in coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are provided to BLS by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Independent mining contractors are excluded from the coal, metal, and nonmetal mining industries. These data do not reflect the changes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration made to its recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002; therefore estimates for these industries are not comparable to estimates in other industries.
(3) Data for employers in rail transportation are provided to BLS by the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
(4) Days-away-from-work cases include those that result in days away from work with or without job transfer or restriction.

Note: Because of rounding, components may not add to totals. Dashes indicate data not available.
Incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers and were calculated as: (N/EH) x 200,000 where: N = number of injuries and illnesses; EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year; and 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year).


Table 2. Numbers of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by selected industries and case types, North Carolina, 2018 (numbers in thousands)
Industry(1)(2)(3)Total recordable casesCases with days away from work, job transfer, or restrictionOther recordable cases
TotalCases with days away from work(4)Cases with job transfer or restriction

All industries including state and local government

93.049.425.723.743.6

Private industry

73.440.521.519.032.9

Goods-producing

19.311.85.76.17.6

Natural resources and mining

1.00.80.40.40.2

Construction

5.33.32.11.22.0

Manufacturing

13.07.73.24.45.4

Service-providing

54.128.815.812.925.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

21.113.77.26.47.4

Information

0.90.60.50.10.4

Financial activities

2.31.50.80.70.8

Professional and business services

6.22.71.80.93.5

Education and health services

14.96.42.93.58.5

Leisure and hospitality

7.63.12.20.94.4

Other services, except public administration

1.10.80.50.30.3

State and local government

19.68.94.24.710.7

State government

3.31.71.00.71.6

Local government

16.37.23.24.09.1

Footnotes:
(1) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees.
(2) Data for mining (Sector 21 in the North American Industry Classification System, 2012 edition) include establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction and related support activities. Data for mining operators in coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are provided to BLS by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Independent mining contractors are excluded from the coal, metal, and nonmetal mining industries. These data do not reflect the changes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration made to its recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002; therefore estimates for these industries are not comparable to estimates in other industries.
(3) Data for employers in rail transportation are provided to BLS by the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
(4) Days-away-from-work cases include those that result in days away from work with or without job transfer or restriction.

Note: Because of rounding, components may not add to totals. Dashes indicate data not available.


Table 3. Incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry sector and employment size, North Carolina, 2018
Industry(1)(2)(3)All establishmentsEstablishment employment size (workers)
1 to 1011 to 4950 to 249250 to 9991,000 or more

All industries including state and local government

2.61.02.43.32.83.1

Private industry

2.41.02.33.12.62.5

Goods-producing

2.81.92.53.62.61.8

Natural resources and mining

3.7-2.82.74.8-

Construction

2.51.92.03.43.3-

Manufacturing

2.8-3.13.72.41.8

Service-providing

2.30.82.33.02.52.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

3.10.83.13.44.25.5

Information

1.3(4)2.12.00.60.8

Financial activities

1.01.31.31.10.30.4

Professional and business services

1.3-2.21.70.70.4

Education and health services

3.21.32.23.93.34.2

Leisure and hospitality

2.4(4)1.93.45.52.6

Other services, except public administration

1.3-2.02.71.6-

State and local government

3.9-2.94.04.03.9

State government

2.3--1.51.42.4

Local government

4.5-2.74.15.15.3

Footnotes:
(1) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees.
(2) Data for mining (Sector 21 in the North American Industry Classification System, 2012 edition) include establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction and related support activities. Data for mining operators in coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are provided to BLS by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Independent mining contractors are excluded from the coal, metal, and nonmetal mining industries. These data do not reflect the changes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration made to its recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002; therefore estimates for these industries are not comparable to estimates in other industries.
(3) Data for employers in rail transportation are provided to BLS by the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
(4) Data do not meet publication guidelines.

Note: Because of rounding, components may not add to totals. Dashes indicate data not available.
Incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers and were calculated as: (N/EH) x 200,000 where: N = number of injuries and illnesses; EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year; and 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year).


Table 4. Incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry sector and selected case type with measures of statistical significance, North Carolina, 2017–18
Industry(1)(2)(3)Total recordable casesCases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction (4)
2017201820172018

All industries including state and local government

2.52.61.31.4*

Private industry

2.32.41.31.3

Goods-producing

2.62.81.61.7

Natural resources and mining

3.43.72.33.0

Construction

1.82.5*1.11.6*

Manufacturing

2.92.81.81.6*

Service-providing

2.22.31.21.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

3.13.12.12.0

Information

1.01.30.40.8

Financial activities

0.71.00.20.7*

Professional and business services

1.01.30.50.6

Education and health services

3.23.21.41.4

Leisure and hospitality

2.62.41.01.0

Other services, except public administration

1.61.30.91.0

State and local government

3.83.91.81.8

State government

2.62.3*1.41.2*

Local government

4.34.52.02.0

Footnotes:
(1) Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees.
(2) Data for mining (Sector 21 in the North American Industry Classification System, 2012 edition) include establishments not governed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rules and reporting, such as those in oil and gas extraction and related support activities. Data for mining operators in coal, metal, and nonmetal mining are provided to BLS by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Independent mining contractors are excluded from the coal, metal, and nonmetal mining industries. These data do not reflect the changes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration made to its recordkeeping requirements effective January 1, 2002; therefore estimates for these industries are not comparable to estimates in other industries.
(3) Data for employers in rail transportation are provided to BLS by the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
(4) Days-away-from-work cases include those that result in days away from work with or without job transfer or restriction.

Note: Dashes indicate data not available.
Incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers and were calculated as: (N/EH) x 200,000 where: N = number of injuries and illnesses; EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year; and 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year).
* An asterisk indicates a significant difference between the current year and prior year values, when testing at 95% confidence level.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, January 31, 2020