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Center for Policy, Planning and Evaluation
Data Management and Analysis Division
Occupational Safety and Health Statistics Program
Reports
The mission of the Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSH) program, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is to provide accurate, timely, and relevant data on injuries, illnesses, and fatalities that affect American workers. The vision of OSH is to contribute in the effort to eliminate occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities by being the premier source of information on the safety and health of American workers. OSH goals are consistent with the strategic goals of the US Department of Labor to provide American workers, employers, and policymakers with the information they need to keep our country competitive in a global economy. OSH goals are also consistent with the BLS goal to provide timely, accurate, and impartial data relevant to the needs of our users and to the social and economic conditions of our nation, its workers, and their families.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the Federal agency responsible for carrying out the responsibilities of the Secretary of Labor under Section 24 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Since 1971, the BLS has had cooperative arrangements with states to collect occupational injury and illness data through the Occupational Safety and Health Statistics program (OSH). Through this statistical program BLS annually reports on the number of workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Such information is useful in identifying industries with high rates or large numbers of injuries, illnesses and fatalities both nationwide and separately for those states participating in this program. Since 1972, the survey has reported annually on the number of workplace injuries and illnesses in private industry and the frequency of those incidents. In 1992 BLS began collecting additional information on the more seriously injured or ill workers in the form of worker and case characteristics and initiated a separate Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries to count these tragic events more effectively than had been possible in the survey.
The BLS safety and health statistical system presents three distinct types of data.
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Summary data:
Reports on the number and rate of injuries and illnesses by industry
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Case and demographic data:
Provides additional details on the worker injured, the nature of the disabling condition, and the event and source producing that condition for those cases that involve one or more days away from work
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Fatality data:
Provides information on 28 separate data elements including information on the worker, the fatal incident, and the machinery or equipment involved
This statistical program now extends to about 50 political jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands.
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