California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has posted California’s 2017 occupational injury and illness data on employer-reported injuries. According to the estimates provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), California had 466,600 nonfatal occupational injuries in 2017, a number stable from the prior year. The data posted includes detailed case and demographic data.

The chart above shows nonfatal injuries/illnesses (in thousands) for all industries 2002–2017: Data Source: DIR, Director's Office of Policy, Research and Legislation

Of the 466,600 nonfatal reportable job-related injuries and illnesses in 2017, 78% occurred in private industry and 22% in state and local government sectors. Both the statewide all-industry count of “lost time” cases (referred to in the survey as “days away from work, job transfer or restriction” or DART cases) and the number of “days away from work” cases (DAFW) remained steady. By occupation, DAFW rates were highest in 2017 for cleaning and maintenance workers (311 cases per 10,000 workers), construction (246 cases) and transportation (225 cases).

Estimates for the California Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses are derived from a statistical sample of employers in the state. The SOII program is administered by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in cooperation with participating state agencies. Surveyed employers report data as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Recordkeeping regulation (29 CFR 1904), using the OSHA 300 Log.

Additional background and methodological information regarding the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program can be found in Chapter 9 of the BLS Handbook of