Nearly 150 thousand victims of industrial accidents each year

In 2000 2.1 percent of the labour force, just under 150 thousand people, had been involved in at least one industrial accident. Two-thirds of the victims were off work for a brief or longer period afterwards.

Men and boys have more accidents

Men are more likely to be involved in an accident at work than women. In 2000 2.8 of men had an accident, compared with 1.1 percent of women. Young people too had a higher risk of an accident in the workplace. Three percent of 15-24 year-olds had at least one accident at work.

Share of labour force involved in industrial accidents, 2000

Higher educated workers report the fewest accidents: only 0.9 percent of them had an accident at work in 2000. The share of workers with intermediate and lower educational levels who had an accident at work was above average.

Most accidents in construction and manufacturing

The risk of an accident is twice as high for construction workers as for the overall labour force: 2.8 percent of construction workers had an accident in 2000. In agriculture and fisheries, hotels, restaurants and trade, and in the manufacturing industry the number of accidents is also above average at 3 percent. Financial and business services are the safest sectors to work in. Only 0.7 percent of workers in these branches had an accident.

Share of labour force involved in industrial accidents by sector of industry, 2000

Christianne Hupkens