Older workers have highest injury rate

Older workers have highest injury rate

Workers aged 65 years and over sustained work-related injuries at a rate considerably higher than any other age group, Statistics New Zealand said today. These statistics are derived from Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) claims.

While workers aged 65 years and over comprised 2.4 percent of the workforce, approximately 9,100 (one in five) suffered some form of injury at work in 2006. Workers in this age group also accounted for 24 of the 81 claims lodged for work-related fatalities.

They were also over represented among the more serious injury claims, which were those requiring weekly compensation or rehabilitation payments, at a rate almost three times higher than any other age group, with 45 per 1,000 full-time equivalent workers (FTEs).

The latest figures also reveal the continuing domination of three industry groups – agriculture, forestry and fishing; manufacturing; and construction, which accounted for approximately 40 percent of all claims for work-related injuries, with respective injury rates of 177, 165 and 152 per 1,000 FTEs.

The majority of serious injury claims, and over half of all fatal injury claims were lodged for injuries that occurred in these industries. Furthermore, among those aged 65 years and over, almost half of all work-related injury claims (47 percent) were accounted for by these industries. These three industries are all associated with physically demanding work.

ACC accepted 235,200 claims for work-related injuries that occurred in 2006 (at 31 March 2007), made by 216,900 workers. Figures for 2006 reveal a rate of around 126 claims per 1,000 FTEs. Males accounted for almost three-quarters of all lodged claims (73 percent). Final figures for the period 2002 to 2005 show that the annual rate of work-related injury has remained stable over the last four years.

Geoff Bascand
Government Statistician
30 October 2007

END

There is a companion Hot Off The Press information release published – Injury Statistics – Work-related Claims: 2006.

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