CWCI: Employment Gains, COVID Reporting Drive Increase in Injuries

Rebounding statewide employment and mandatory reporting of COVID-19 infections at work sites helped drive a 25.6% increase in the nonfatal work injury and illness rate per 100 full-time employees in 2022, the California Workers’ Compensation Institute said. The number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses fell to about 450,000 cases per year during the first two years of the pandemic, then climbed to 565,900 cases in 2022. “The impact of pandemic-driven job losses is evident, as the number of work injuries and illnesses fell as the state’s unemployment rate soared 4.1% in 2019...