Report: workplace injuries decline in 1999

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The number of Oklahomans injured on the job declined in 1999, Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau Wynn reported on Tuesday.

There were 66,900 injuries last year, down from 73,500 in 1998.

The 1999 injury/illness incident rate of 6.6 per 100 workers nearly mirrors the national rate of 6.3 per 100 workers, Reneau Wynn said in a news release.

"The near-steady decline of workplace injuries points to the benefits of safety and health programs," Reneau Wynn said.

The 9 percent decrease among all occupations is attributable to workplace injury declines in manufacturing, construction and transportation sectors. Injuries in manufacturing have steadily declined from 14.3 per 100 workers in 1994 to 10.1 per 100 workers last year, Reneau Wynn said.

Of the 66,900 injuries and illnesses reported in 1999, 35,500, or 53 percent, required lost workdays with or without restricted work activity. The number reflects a drop of 3,000 from 1998, the report said.

There were no lost workdays in 31,400, or 47 percent, of injuries and illnesses, which represents 3,600 fewer incidents without lost workdays than in 1998.

Manufacturing accounted for 18,500, or 28 percent, of the total with an injury/illness incident rate of 10.1 per 100 workers. The figure is a decrease of 17 percent from the 1998 rate of 12.1 per 100 workers, the report said.

In two sectors, workplace injuries/illnesses increased.

In wholesale trade, workplace injuries/illnesses increased 9 percent in 1999. The 6,000 injuries, or a rate of 8.8 per 100 workers, represented a 3 percent increase from the 5,800 incidents reported in 1998, the report said.

The finance, insurance and real estate sector saw injuries/illnesses increase 33 percent, totaling 1,200 incidents, or 1.9 per 100 workers, in 1999.

The construction incident rate fell 47 percent to 7.8 per 100 workers, while the number of injuries/illnesses in mining fell 44 percent to an incident rate of 3.4 per 100 workers. The incident rate in 1998 was 5.4 per 100 workers.

In the transportation and public utilities category, the incident rate of 4.7 per 100 workers is a 31 percent decrease from the 1998 incident rate of 6.8 per 100 workers.

Data for the services and retail trade industries was not publishable for 1999, officials said.