INDIANAPOLIS (INDIANA CAPITAL CHRONICLE) — Fewer than three in 100 full-time Hoosier workers were injured or sick on the job last year, according to a federal survey released Friday. It’s the lowest rate in Indiana since data collection began in the early 1990s.

The rate of 2.6 non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses is down from the rate of 2.9 in 2022. But it is slightly above the national average of 2.4, conformable a press release from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Indiana leaders celebrated, crediting the drop in safety protocols.

“These declining rates show how Hoosier State employers are realizing the importance of safety training and its impact on the workplace,” Indiana Department of Labor Commissioner David Redden said in a news release Monday. “We encourage all businesses to continue to comply with (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) safety standards and take advantage of continuing safety education for all workers.”

Nine industries saw a decrease in nonfatal injury and illness rates compared to 2022, according to the state agency. website. These included health care and social care, manufacturing, transportation and storage, and utilities.

Seven industries had higher rates than in 2022, such as agriculture, arts and entertainment, education, local government and state government.

Indiana’s lower injury and illness rate was part of a national downward trend.

The BLS said the nation’s declines were driven by a 57 percent drop in illnesses: from 45.2 per 100 workers in 2022 (and higher rates in the past two years) to 19 per 100 workers in 2023. States experienced high levels of illness during the attack. of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But Hoosier workplace injuries and illnesses have also been on a downward trend since the 1990s.

When the US Bureau of Labor Statistics began its survey in 1992, Indiana’s rate was 11 injuries or illnesses per 100 full-time workers. The state peaked at 11.3 in 1994. Since then, the rate has dropped 77 percent.