First, the good news . . .

According to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. workplace fatalities fell 17% in 2009 to an all-time record low. There were a total of 4,340 workplace deaths, compared to 5,214 the previous year. In a similar vein, the National Council of Compensation Insurance reports that workplace injuries have been declining for more than a decade and are at their lowest point in years.

The bad news . . .

When you drill into the numbers, the declines appear to have more to do with record-high unemployment than true gains in worker safety. Depending on whose statistics you believe, it appears that true unemployment is at its highest level in a quarter century. Indeed, new unemployment claims jumped 500,000 in the most recent week of reporting.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 8:28 am and is filed under Employment Law News, Trends, Unemployment, Workplace Fatalities, Workplace Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.