New York private-sector employers reported 122,400 workplace injuries and illnesses in 2024, nearly 18% fewer than in 2014, according to a new analysis from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The 2024 rate was 1.9 incidents per 100 workers, below the national average of 2.3 and the fifth-lowest rate among states and Washington, D.C., that reported data. The statewide improvement masks much higher rates in several jobs, the comptroller's office said.
Higher rates in transportation and care work
Transportation and warehousing had the highest broad-industry rate in New York, at four incidents per 100 workers in 2024. Health care and social assistance and retail trade each recorded 2.8, while leisure and hospitality and manufacturing each recorded 2.5; natural resources and mining recorded 2.3.
Each of those broad industries had a rate above the statewide average but below its corresponding national rate, according to the analysis. Looking more closely, 33 of 61 subsectors had rates above their parent industry's average.
Couriers and messengers had the highest subsector rate, at 7.5 incidents per 100 workers, followed by air transportation at six and warehousing and storage at 5.3. Accommodation and nursing homes and residential facilities also exceeded five per 100, meaning more than one in 20 workers in those subsectors reported an injury or illness that year.
Fewer incidents, but more disrupted work
Incidents requiring days away from work, restricted duties or a job transfer fell to 1.1 per 100 workers in 2024, the lowest rate since 1995. Still, those outcomes accounted for 58% of all reported incidents, up from 50% in 1995 and 54% in 2014.
Workplace injuries fell sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained below the 2014-19 average of 136,250 a year. The comptroller's office said expanded work from home may have contributed to the decline; it did not establish that as the sole cause.
Workplace illnesses rose during the pandemic and, despite later declines, remained more than 1,000 cases above their pre-pandemic annual average. For 2023-24 combined, sprains, strains and tears were the most common injury or illness category, with 51,420 cases, and coronavirus was the leading illness.
Overexertion or repetitive motion, contact with objects or equipment, and falls, slips or trips together accounted for 81% of injuries and illnesses. DiNapoli said the higher-rate sectors show where stronger workplace safety practices could reduce disruptions and protect workers.
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