Workers with less than two years on the job accounted for 54% of workers compensation injuries in 2022-2024, despite representing roughly one-third of the workforce, according to a Workers Compensation Research Institute report released Wednesday.
Nearly four in 10 injuries occurred during employees’ first year with an employer, including 16% during their first three months, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based institute found.
The concentration was particularly pronounced in restaurants and entertainment, where workers with less than two years of tenure accounted for 64% of injuries. The share reached 60% in agriculture, forestry and fishing and 59% in construction.
WCRI researchers examined 8 million non-COVID-19 claims from injury years 2019 through 2024 across 31 states. Those states account for approximately 83% of U.S. workers compensation benefits paid.
Construction and mining, meanwhile, accounted for just 7% of injuries but carried the highest average medical and indemnity payments per claim.
For construction claims involving more than seven days of lost time, average medical payments were $22,752 and indemnity benefits were $16,830 at an average 12 months after injury. Combined, those payments approached $40,000, compared with about $25,000 across industries for claims meeting the same lost-time threshold.
The pandemic also reshaped the industry mix. Transportation, warehousing and utilities accounted for 12.5% of claims in 2024, up from 10.9% in 2019. Wholesale and retail trade’s share rose to 20.3% from 19.2%. Health care and social services, manufacturing, and restaurants and entertainment each accounted for smaller shares than before the pandemic.
The shift toward injuries among newer employees showed signs of reversing. Claims involving workers with less than three months of tenure fell from 18.4% in 2022 to 14.4% in 2024, below the 15.7% recorded in 2019.
This article was first published by Business Insurance.
