12/13/20
National Safety Council
Washington, DC A comprehensive public health strategy is needed to protect younger workers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers say after their recent study showing that the rate of nonfatal on-the-job injuries among 15- to 24-year-olds is between 1.2 and 2.3 times higher than that of the 25-44 age group.
Analyzing data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, researchers found that hospital ERs treated an estimated 3.2 million nonfatal occupational injuries to workers ages 15-24 between 2012 and 2018. Of those, 18- and 19-year-olds experienced the highest injury rate, at 404 per 10,000 full-time equivalent workers. The injury rate for workers ages 20-24 and 15-17 was 287 and 281 per 10,000 FTEs, respectively, compared with 195 per 10,000 for workers 25-44.