Workers compensation statistics span several related but different measures: employer-reported injuries and illnesses, cases involving lost time or restricted work, insurer premiums and reserves, and modeled occupational costs. The figures below identify the population, period, geography and measurement limits so that recordable cases are not mistaken for accepted or paid claims.
Key Workers Compensation Statistics
These highlights summarize the most useful figures across the available U.S. data:
- In 2024, U.S. private-industry employers reported 2,488,400 total recordable injury and illness cases.
- In 2024, U.S. private-industry employers reported 2,340,400 injuries and 148,000 illnesses within the total-recordable count.
- The 2024 U.S. private-industry total-recordable incidence rate was 2.3 cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers, compared with 2.4 in 2023.
- The 2024 U.S. private-industry injury incidence rate was 2.2 cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers.
- In 2023–24, U.S. private industry recorded 2,983,110 DART cases at an annualized rate of 140.8 per 10,000 FTE workers.
- In 2023–24, DAFW cases had an 8-day median time away from work in U.S. private industry.
- In 2023–24, overexertion, repetitive motion and bodily conditions produced 946,290 DART cases in U.S. private industry.
- In 2023–24, falls, slips and trips produced 721,720 DART cases in U.S. private industry.
- In 2023–24, contact incidents had a DART rate of 40.6 per 10,000 FTE workers in U.S. private industry.
- In 2023–24, DAFW cases represented 61.5% of private-industry DART cases.
- In 2024, workers compensation premium decreased 3% in the NCCI-reported market.
- Private carriers recorded an 86% calendar-year combined ratio in 2024 in NCCI’s workers compensation market measure.
- NCCI estimated a redundant industry reserve position of $16 billion in 2024.
- In 2024, lost-time claim frequency declined 5% in the NCCI-reported market.
- In 2024, medical claim severity increased 6% in the NCCI-reported market.
- A peer-reviewed historical study estimated 13.3 million nonfatal job-related injuries in the United States in 1992.
- The same 1992 study estimated $155.5 billion in total direct and indirect occupational injury and illness costs.
- Workers compensation covered roughly 27% of all modeled occupational injury and illness costs in 1992.
- The 1992 study estimated that workers compensation records underestimated injuries by 55%.
Contents
- Workers compensation claims and injuries over time
- Workers compensation cases by event and time away
- Workplace injury rates and outcomes
- Workers compensation premiums, reserves and underwriting
- Occupational injury costs and workers compensation’s payer share
- What workers compensation statistics measure and miss
Workers Compensation Claims and Injuries Over Time
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses measures employer-reported, OSHA-recordable nonfatal cases. It is useful for tracking workplace injury and illness levels, but it is not identical to accepted or paid workers compensation claims.
| Year | Total recordable cases | Population and unit |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,905,900 | U.S. private industry cases |
| 2016 | 2,857,400 | U.S. private industry cases |
| 2017 | 2,811,500 | U.S. private industry cases |
| 2018 | 2,834,500 | U.S. private industry cases |
| 2019 | 2,814,000 | U.S. private industry cases |
| 2020 | 2,654,700 | U.S. private industry cases |
| 2021 | 2,607,900 | U.S. private industry cases |
| 2022 | 2,804,200 | U.S. private industry cases |
| 2023 | 2,569,000 | U.S. private industry cases |
| 2024 | 2,488,400 | U.S. private industry cases |
Source: BLS, Table 1: total recordable occupational injuries and illnesses, private industry, 2015–24. The SOII excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees, and the counts are rounded.
The 2024 total included 2,340,400 injuries and 148,000 illnesses. Respiratory illness cases were 428,700 in 2020, 269,600 in 2021, 365,000 in 2022, 100,200 in 2023 and 54,000 in 2024; these are employer-reported respiratory illness cases, not all compensation claims.
Workers Compensation Cases by Event and Time Away
BLS DART data combine days-away-from-work cases (DAFW) with cases involving only job restriction or transfer (DJTR). The 2023–24 figures are biennial counts with annualized rates, and the median is not an average.
| Case measure, U.S. private industry | Cases | Annualized rate or median |
|---|---|---|
| DART | 2,983,110 | 140.8 per 10,000 FTE; 14-day median |
| DAFW | 1,834,600 | 86.6 per 10,000 FTE; 8-day median |
| DJTR | 1,148,510 | 54.2 per 10,000 FTE; 15-day median |
Source: BLS, Table 2: nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses, 2023–24. DAFW and DJTR are component categories and should not be added without respecting the overlap rule.
The largest selected event or exposure groups show why compensation-related case data need more than a single total:
- Overexertion, repetitive motion and bodily conditions produced 946,290 DART cases, with a rate of 44.7 per 10,000 FTE workers and a 24-day median.
- Contact incidents produced 860,050 DART cases, including 499,270 DAFW and 360,780 DJTR cases; the DART rate was 40.6 per 10,000 FTE workers with a 10-day median.
- Falls, slips and trips produced 721,720 DART cases, including 479,480 DAFW and 242,240 DJTR cases; the rate was 34.1 per 10,000 FTE workers with a 20-day median.
- Exposure to harmful substances or environments produced 224,450 DART cases, including 196,540 DAFW cases; the rate was 10.6 per 10,000 FTE workers with a 5-day median.
- Transportation incidents produced 121,330 DART cases, including 91,690 DAFW and 29,640 DJTR cases; the rate was 5.7 per 10,000 FTE workers with a 21-day median.
- Violent acts produced 78,340 DART cases, including 54,510 DAFW and 23,830 DJTR cases; the rate was 3.7 per 10,000 FTE workers with an 11-day median.
Workplace Injury Rates and Outcomes Relevant to Workers Compensation
The BLS reported a 2024 total-recordable rate of 2.3 cases per 100 FTE workers, down from 2.4 in 2023. The 2024 injury rate was 2.2 per 100 FTE workers, while the illness rate fell from 19.0 per 10,000 FTE workers in 2023 to 13.9 in 2024.
The respiratory-illness rate fell from 9.5 to 5.1 per 10,000 FTE workers between 2023 and 2024. These are rounded employer-reported rates under OSHA recordkeeping rules, not workers compensation payment rates.
| U.S. private-industry measure | 2023–24 result |
|---|---|
| DAFW share of DART cases, 2023–24 | 61.5% |
| DJTR share of DART cases, 2023–24 | 38.5% |
| Novel-coronavirus DAFW rate, 2023–24 | 5.6 per 10,000 FTE |
Source: BLS, Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024. The revised OIICS classification creates a series break for 2023–24 case characteristics.
Industry and occupation patterns also differ. Information had a 2024 total-recordable rate of 0.7 per 100 FTE workers, down from 1.0 in 2023, while health care and social assistance had a rate of 3.4, down from 3.6.
Healthcare support occupations had a novel-coronavirus DAFW rate of 32.4 per 10,000 FTE workers in 2023–24, compared with 26.7 for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations. These are selected occupational-group rates, not estimates of all compensation claims.
Workers Compensation Premiums, Reserves and Underwriting Trends
NCCI’s 2024 market metrics describe workers compensation insurance performance and private carriers. They do not represent all public or self-insured programs, and premium measures are not the same as total employer injury costs.
| NCCI-reported 2024 measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Workers compensation premium change | Decreased 3% |
| Private-carrier calendar-year combined ratio | 86% |
| Accident-year combined ratio | 99% |
| Estimated redundant industry reserves | $16 billion |
| Lost-time claim frequency | Declined 5% |
| Medical claim severity | Increased 6% |
| Indemnity claim severity | Increased 6% |
Source: NCCI, Metrics Show That the Workers Compensation System Remains Strong. The $16 billion figure is an NCCI reserve estimate, not paid claims.
The 2024 calendar-year combined ratio was below 90% for the eighth consecutive year, and private carriers had 11 consecutive years of underwriting profitability through 2024. Calendar-year and accident-year ratios are different measures, so the 86% and 99% figures should not be treated as interchangeable.
NCCI also reported a 5% decline in lost-time claim frequency alongside 6% increases in both medical and indemnity claim severity. Severity is a claim-cost measure here; no nominal average dollar amount is supplied for either category.
Occupational Injury Costs and Workers Compensation’s Payer Share
A peer-reviewed study hosted by the CDC modeled the national burden of occupational injuries and illnesses in 1992, rather than measuring current workers compensation claims. Its historical estimates help explain why insured payments can represent only part of the broader economic cost.
| 1992 United States estimate | Result |
|---|---|
| Job-related injury deaths | 6,371 |
| Nonfatal injuries | 13.3 million |
| Disease deaths | 60,300 |
| Occupational illnesses | 1,184,000 |
| Total direct and indirect costs | $155.5 billion in 1992 dollars |
| Direct costs | $51.8 billion |
| Indirect costs | $103.7 billion |
Source: Costs of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, peer-reviewed study. The estimate uses a human-capital model and is not inflation-adjusted here.
In the study’s model, injuries generated about 85% of total occupational injury and illness costs, while diseases generated 15%. Workers compensation covered roughly 27% of all modeled costs, and taxpayers paid approximately 18% through Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
The study separately estimated 13,343,000 occupational injuries costing $132.8 billion, including $38.4 billion in direct and $94.3 billion in indirect costs. It classified 5,326,000 as disabling injuries and 8,011,000 as nondisabling; disabling meant at least one day of work loss in that study.
Within the disabling categories, the estimates were 12,124 permanent-total, 741,000 permanent-partial and 1,947,000 temporary-total/partial injuries. Components may not sum exactly because of rounding.
What Workers Compensation Statistics Measure and Miss
A central limitation is the difference between workplace surveillance and compensation administration. BLS SOII data cover employer-reported, OSHA-recordable nonfatal cases, while workers compensation statistics may refer to claims, accepted claims, paid benefits, insurer results or broader modeled costs.
The historical study estimated that the BLS annual survey missed roughly 53% of job-related injuries and that workers compensation records underestimated injuries by 55% in its 1992 evidence assessment. These are study-specific historical estimates, not a current BLS adjustment factor or a claim-denial rate.
The study used a workforce reference of roughly 120 million U.S. workers in 1992. It also estimated 218 bystander deaths and 68,000 bystander nonfatal injuries associated with occupational episodes, assigning $2.9132 billion in modeled 1992 costs; bystanders are outside the ordinary employee workers compensation population.
Finally, the study said its human-capital estimate omitted pain-and-suffering costs that would add at least $350 billion in 1992 dollars. That is an uncaptured sensitivity estimate, not an amount paid by workers compensation, and it reinforces why claim totals, insurer metrics and societal cost estimates answer different questions.