Decline in lost-time claims is linked to drop in hazardous jobs

Workers' compensation claims have declined in North America and Europe. One explanation is that service sector employment has grown, and there are fewer hazardous jobs. Yet this does not explain the decline in injury rates in high-hazard industries, such as construction or manufacturing. In this study, researchers aimed to identify which factors were related to the decline in lost-time claim rates.

Using an innovative approach, lost-time claim rates from within industries were derived from data from the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and the Canadian Labour Force Survey from 1990 to 2003. The factors predicting claim rates — including age, gender, job tenure and physical demands — were analyzed. Other factors such as levels of enforcement were not included.

There was an overall decline in WSIB lost-time claim rates in Ontario from 1990 to 2003. The overall decline across sectors was 51 per cent. Forestry, manufacturing and construction all experienced reductions of greater than 50 per cent. Within sectors, this decline was associated with a decrease in the number of people performing manual jobs. Changes in the workforce composition, based on age, gender or job tenure, were not significantly associated with the drop in claim rates.

One strength is that researchers looked at claims over a long period of time (13 years). They also reviewed claims within 12 industrial sectors, rather than in the workforce overall. One limitation is the study used claims data, which may have errors in reporting and coding.