State workers see dramatic increase in workplace injuries and illnesses as Washington tops national average

The rate of workplace injuries and illnesses in Washington's private industry has risen above the national rate. Washington finds itself among the states with the highest rates of nonfatal workplace injuries.

The results of a new survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was released this week. About 89,600 cases of nonfatal workplace injuries were recorded in Washington over 2022. That's 44% higher than the national rate.

Washington's "incident rate" was 3.9 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2022. The national rate was 2.7.

The only state that ranked higher than Washington was Maine (5 cases per 100 workers). Oregon and Vermont matched Washington with a rate of 3.9; Wisconsin was 3.7; California and Montana had a rate of 3.6 per 100 workers.

Among private industry, the largest jump in workplace injuries came in the education and health sectors. But overall, the biggest increase in both government and private sector jobs was the number of people injured while working in state government.

State workers saw a 78% increase in injuries and illnesses in 2022, over the previous year. No breakout of the kinds of state government jobs was provided.