The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published provisional statistics on workplace ill health and injury in Britain between April 2011 and March 2012.
The figures show that:
- 22,433 major injuries such as amputations, fractures and burns, to employees were reported - a rate of 89.90 injuries per 100,000 workers - compared with 24,944 in 2010/11. The average for the past five years is 27,170.
- 88,731 other injuries serious enough to keep people off work for four or more days were reported - a rate of 355.5 injuries per 100,000 employees - down from 91,742 the previous year. The average for the past five years is 103,627.
- An estimated 1.1 million people said they were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by their work, down from 1.2 million in 2010/11. Of these, 452,000 were new illnesses occurring in-year. The average for the past five years was 1.25 million with an average 554,000 new cases each year.
- 173 workers fatally injured - down from 175 the previous year. The average for the past five years was 196 worker deaths per year.
Chair of HSE, Judith Hackitt said:
"Any reduction in the number of people being injured or made unwell by their jobs should be welcomed. Given the challenging economic conditions which many sectors have faced in recent years it is particularly encouraging to see continued reductions in levels of injury and ill health.
"Britain has earned the reputation of being one of the safest places in Europe to work, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. We need to ensure that we all focus on managing the real risks which lead to serious workplace harm.”