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Economist ponders reason for drop in injuries, illnesses rate
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shifts in hours worked to safer industries account for only a small part of the drop in injury and illness rates in the mid-2000s.
Alexander Measure, an economist in the Division of Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, Office of Compensation and Working Conditions at the BLS, sought to determine whether the drop in the rate between 2003 and 2008 was due to more hours being worked in safer industries. But three mathematical calculations failed to prove that hypothesis. "Depending on the approach, estimates of the 2003-08 impact of shifts in industry shares of hours on injury and illness rates range from -0.029 to -0.057, or roughly between 3 percent and 5 percent of the observed rate decline from 5.0 cases per 100 full-time employees in 2003 to 3.9 cases in 2008," Measure said. The study results "support the conclusion that shifts in industry shares of hours explain only a small portion of the decline in injury and illness rates in the private sector between 2003 and 2008."
August 16, 2012 Copyright 2012© LRP Publications |
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