Bureau of Labor Statistics: restaurant job injuries declined in 2006

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 3, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The number of foodservice workers who missed at least a day of work to recover from on-the-job injuries declined sharply in 2006, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

The number of restaurant workers injured on the job also declined, but by a slim margin, the BLS said.

The agency's newly released figures indicate that 60,300 restaurant workers last year were hurt badly enough to require a day or more off from work or were reassigned to a different position as a result of their injuries. That was a 19-percent decline from the 74,300 workers in 2005 that were hurt and needed time off or were reassigned.

But the total number of employees at "food services and drinking places" who were injured on the job declined by less than 1 percent in 2006 to 239,500, from 241,300 in 2005.

Of the persons who needed time off from work to recover from injuries or who were reassigned, 18,950 of the cases stemmed from "contact with objects," including 2,090 who were "caught in or compressed or crushed." About 13,930 workers missed workdays because of "falls on the same level," versus falling down stairs.

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The BLS estimated that the number of people employed in the foodservice industry last year grew to 9.2 million, up 2.3 percent from 9.01 million in 2005.

Overall, 4.1 million workers in all industries were hurt on the job in 2006, of which 1.18 million needed at least a day off from work.