Accidents at work - statistics by economic activity

Data extracted in October 2022.

Planned update: November 2023.

Highlights

In 2020, the highest incidence of non-fatal accidents at work in the EU was observed in construction, with 2 987 such accidents per 100 000 persons employed.

In 2020, the highest incidence of fatal accidents at work in the EU was observed in mining and quarrying, with 10.0 such accidents per 100 000 persons employed.

Incidence rate of non-fatal accidents at work, EU, 2012–2020

This article presents a set of main statistical findings in relation to indicators concerning non-fatal and fatal accidents at work in the European Union (EU). The statistics presented have been collected within the framework of the European statistics on accidents at work (ESAW) administrative data collection exercise. This article analyses these statistics according to the type of activity in which accidents occur, focusing on selected activities, which are: agriculture, forestry and fishing (NACE Section A); mining and quarrying (NACE Section B); manufacturing (NACE Section C); construction (NACE Section F); wholesale and retail trade (NACE Section G); transportation and storage (NACE Section H); accommodation and food service activities (NACE Section I); administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N); public administration and defence (NACE Section O); and human health and social work activities (NACE Section Q).

Full article

Developments over time

Non-fatal accidents

In 2020, there were 2.7 million non-fatal accidents that resulted in at least four calendar days of absence from work in the EU (see Table 1). The total number of non-fatal accidents at work in the EU rose between 2012 and 2019, up some 203 000 (equivalent to an overall increase of 6.9 %). This increase may reflect to some extent data collection methodological changes in some of the EU Member States. For more information, please refer to the Data sources section of the main article Accidents at work statistics. In 2020, this upward trend was interrupted, as the number of non-fatal accidents fell by 405 000, down 12.9 %. This change reflects, at least in part, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the labour market and working conditions.

In absolute terms, non-fatal accidents in 2020, in the EU were most common in

manufacturing: 497 000 (18.2 % of the total),
human health and social work activities: 402 000 (14.7 %),
construction: 340 000 (12.4 %),
wholesale and retail trade: 329 000 (12.0 %).

Given that the workforces of these activities greatly vary in size, the incidence rate (the number of non-fatal accidents at work for every 100 000 persons employed) gives a clearer impression of where workers are more likely to encounter non-fatal accidents.

In 2020, the highest incidence of non-fatal accidents at work in the EU was observed in construction, with 2 987 such accidents per 100 000 persons employed. Transportation and storage (2 212 per 100 000) and administrative and support service activities (2 030 per 100 000) were the only other NACE sections with incidence rates above 2 000 per 100 000 persons employed. The lowest incidence rate was for public administration and defence (1 202 per 100 000 persons employed), as shown in Table 1.

There was a decrease in the EU's incidence rate of non-fatal accidents between 2012 and 2019 for all economic activities (down 4.2 %), reflecting growth in the number of persons employed. Among the various activities, incidence rates for non-fatal accidents at work were generally lower in 2019 than in 2012. This situation was observed for 8 out of the 10 NACE sections for which data are shown. Between 2012 and 2019 there were considerable increases in incidence rates for non-fatal accidents for public administration and defence (32.7 %) and human health and social work activities (up 12.3 %). Note that the changes observed for the EU in some activities may be linked to changes in coverage of specific activities for some EU Member States, for example because of the end of derogations or voluntary data collection.

Focusing just on the latest annual change, the incidence rate of non-fatal accidents fell 10.0 % between 2019 and 2020. A decrease was observed for 8 out of 10 NACE sections. The largest decrease was recorded for accommodation and food service activities which was particularly impacted by restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 crisis. The only activities that recorded an increase in the incidence rate of non-fatal accidents in 2020 were agriculture, forestry and fishing as well as human health and social work activities.

Table 1: Non-fatal accidents at work by economic activity, EU, 2012–2020
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_01)

Fatal accidents

In 2020, there were 3 355 fatal accidents at work in the EU (see Table 2), resulting in a ratio of approximately 815 non-fatal accidents for every fatal accident. There was a decrease in the total number of fatal accidents at work in the EU between 2012 and 2019, some 349 fewer (equivalent to an overall reduction of 9.3 %). This decrease continued into 2020 with 53 fewer deaths than in 2019, a fall of 1.6 %.

In absolute terms, fatal accidents in the EU were most common in 2020 in

construction, 690 (20.6 % of the total),
manufacturing, 489 (14.6 %),
transportation and storage, 481 (14.3 %),
agriculture, forestry and fishing, 365 (10.9 %).

In 2020, the highest incidence rate of fatal accidents at work in the EU was observed in mining and quarrying with 10.0 fatal accidents per 100 000 persons employed. Construction (6.1 per 100 000 persons employed), agriculture forestry and fishing (5.0 per 100 000) and transportation and storage (4.6 per 100 000) were the only other NACE sections with incidence rates above 2.0 per 100 000 persons employed. Among the activities shown in Table 2, the lowest incidence rate was for accommodation and food service activities (0.8 per 100 000).

The decrease in the incidence rate (the number of fatal accidents at work for every 100 000 persons employed) between 2012 and 2019 (down by 18.7 %) was somewhat greater than the decrease for the number of fatal accidents, reflecting growth in the number of persons employed. During the period 2012–2019, there was a larger reduction in the number of and incidence of fatal accidents at work in the EU than for non-fatal accidents. While incidence rates for fatal accidents at work – as for non-fatal accidents – were generally lower in 2019 than in 2012 for most activities, an increase was observed in the incidence rate for accommodation and food service activities (up 60.8 %).

Focusing just on the latest annual change, the incidence rate of fatal accidents rose 1.7 % between 2019 and 2020. This was in contrast to the decrease in the incidence rate for non-fatal accidents and also the decrease in the absolute number of fatal accidents. The latter indicates that the number of persons employed fell more between 2019 and 2020 than did the number of fatal accidents. Among the NACE sections for which data are shown in Table 1, a decrease in 2020 was observed for transportation and storage, accommodation and food service activities, administrative and support service activities and construction. There was no change in the incidence rate of fatal accidents for manufacturing but increases for the other activities shown. The largest increase was recorded for human health and social work activities, where the rate more than doubled (up 144.1 %).

Table 2: Fatal accidents at work, by economic activity, EU, 2012–2020
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_01)

Analysis of non-fatal accidents by sex and age

Accidents at work were more likely to involve men than women. In 2020, two out of every three (66.5 %, excluding cases where the sex of the victim experiencing the accident was not reported) non-fatal accidents at work in the EU involved men. To some extent, this reflects the fact that more men than women work in general and in particular in the most commonly affected sectors. Another factor that influences gender differences is the different types of work that men and women carry out.

The difference in incidence rates for men and women in construction was particularly large, with the rate 6.8 times as high for men as for women. Similarly, the incidence rate for men was 5.2 times higher than for women in mining and quarrying. The only activity with a higher incidence rate for non-fatal accidents at work for women than for men was human health and social work activities.

Table 3: Non-fatal accidents at work by economic activity and sex, EU, 2020
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_01)

Focusing on the 10 activities presented in Table 3, the four highest incidence rates for non-fatal accidents at work among women in the EU in 2020 were for human health and social work activities, transportation and storage, administrative and support service activities, and accommodation and food service activities. For men, construction, administrative and support service activities, transportation and storage, and manufacturing had the four highest rates (see Table 4).

Table 4: Highest incidence rates of non-fatal accidents by economic sector and sex, EU, 2020
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_01)

Figure 1 identifies those activities where workers of a particular age range make up a greater or lesser share of those having suffered a non-fatal accident at work. It should be kept in mind that the age profile of the workforce may vary between activities.

Younger workers (those aged less than 25 years) accounted for 11.8 % of all non-fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2020. Higher (than the average for all economic activities) shares of non-fatal accidents among young workers were recorded in the following sectors:

manufacturing (12.2 %),
administrative and support service activities (13.5 %),
construction (14.6 %),
wholesale and retail trade (16.7 %),
accommodation and food service activities (25.2 %).

Older workers (those aged 55 years and over) accounted for 19.2 % of all non-fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2020. Higher shares of non-fatal accidents among older workers were recorded for:

transportation and storage (20.0 %),
human health and social work activities (22.3 %),
public administration and defence (26.8 %)
agriculture, forestry and fishing (27.9 %).

Figure 1: Non-fatal accidents at work by age and economic activity, EU, 2020
(% of non-fatal accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_03)

Severity of accidents

The data presented in Figure 2 include information for non-fatal and fatal accidents. This analysis identifies the number of calendar days (grouped into several classes) during which the victim was unfit for work, excluding the day of the accident itself, or whether there was a permanent incapacity or death (within one year of the accident) as a result of the accident at work.

In the EU, almost three quarters (84.7 %) of all accidents at work in 2020 involved the victim being unfit for work for less than three months, while some 9.9 % were for longer periods (or resulted in permanent incapacity) and 0.1 % were fatal. For the remaining 5.2 % of cases, the severity (in terms of duration of being unfit for work) was unknown.

Accidents at work resulting in the victim being unfit for work for less than three months made up a relatively large proportion of accidents at work in the EU in 2020 in wholesale and retail trade (89.0 %), manufacturing (88.5 %) and accommodation and food service activities (also 88.5 %).

By contrast, the share of workplace accidents in the EU in 2020 that were non-fatal but resulted in the victim being unfit for work for three months or more made up a particularly large share of all workplace accidents for mining and quarrying (20.0 %), more than twice as high as the average for all activities.

Fatal accidents accounted for 0.1 % of all workplace accidents in the EU in 2020. Construction (0.2 %), transportation and storage (also 0.2 %), agriculture, forestry and fishing (0.3 %) and mining and quarrying (0.6 %) were the activities with higher shares.

Figure 2: Accidents at work by severity and economic activity, EU, 2020
(% of accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_04)

Analysis by injured body part

The description of an accident at work includes information on the injured body part. The following options are available for recording an injury by body part at work:

head
neck
back
torso and organs
upper extremities
lower extremities
whole body and multiple sites
other parts of body injured
not specified

Figures 3 and 4 present an analysis of the type of body part injured in non-fatal and fatal accidents.

Non-fatal accidents at work

For all activities combined, the most common body parts injured in non-fatal workplace accidents in the EU in 2020 were the upper extremities (shoulders, arms and hands) with 36.9 % of the total number of non-fatal accidents at work and the lower extremities (hips, legs and feet) with 27.6 %. The only other type of body part with a share that was more than one tenth of the total was the back, accounting for 10.2 % of all injuries.

Table 5: Economic activities with the highest and lowest shares of injury (in non-fatal accidents) to commonly injured body parts, EU, 2020
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_06)

Looking into the injured body part for the individual economic activities analysed in this article (see Figure 3 and Table 5), in 2020 non-fatal accidents at work that resulted in injuries of the upper extremities were particularly common in the EU within manufacturing (52.5 % of all accidents) and the accommodation and food service activities (46.3 %), but were less common in public administration and defence (25.4 %) and human health and social work (23.8 %). For injuries of the lower extremities, there were few variations by activity, with the highest shares for transportation and storage (35.7 %) and mining and quarrying (34.9 %) and the lowest shares for manufacturing (24.3 %) and human health and social work (19.7 %). Back injuries were relatively common within human health and social work activities (13.6 %) and public administration and defence (12.2 %), while agriculture, forestry and fishing (7.3 %) and mining and quarrying (7.0 %) were the activities with the lowest shares.

Figure 3: Non-fatal accidents at work by part of body injured and economic activity, EU, 2020
(% of non-fatal accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_06)

Fatal accidents at work

Turning to fatal accidents at work, the distribution by the body part that was injured was very different. For all activities combined, 3 in 10 fatal accidents in the EU in 2020 related to injuries of the whole body or multiple sites (29.8 %), while just over one fifth (21.1 %) were head injuries and 12.6 % were injuries to the torso and organs (see Figure 4).

The most common category of injuries in fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2020 concerned the whole body and multiple sites. This was observed for each of the 10 activities shown (when excluding the residual category of not specified). The highest share of fatal accidents at work concerning the whole body and multiple sites was recorded for administrative and support service activities (35.7 %), while the lowest was for accommodation and food service activities (18.5 %).

Looking at the less common body parts injured in fatal accidents at work, activities with relatively high shares included:

wholesale and retail trade for upper extremities injuries,
agriculture, forestry and fishing for neck injuries and for injuries of the lower extremities,
transportation and storage for back injuries.

Figure 4: Fatal accidents at work by part of body injured and economic activity, EU, 2020
(% of fatal accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_06)

Analysis by type of injury

Figures 5 and 6 contain analyses of data according to the type of injury sustained when people were involved in accidents: note that the selected types of injury are similar but not identical in the two figures.

Non-fatal accidents at work

In 2020, the most common injuries in the EU resulting from non-fatal accidents were wounds and superficial injuries (26.8 % of the total), dislocations, sprains and strains (24.7 %), concussion and internal injuries (18.6 %) and bone fractures (10.5 %).

Wounds and superficial injuries had the highest share of non-fatal accidents across 7 of the 10 activities shown in Figure 5.
Dislocations, sprains and strains accounted for a higher share for transportation and storage, public administration and defence, and human health and social work activities.

Looking at the less common types of injuries resulting from non-fatal workplace accidents, some were quite common in particular activities.

Bone fractures were relatively common in agriculture, forestry and fishing (18.8 %) and mining and quarrying (18.7 %) compared with the average for all activities (10.5 %).
The loss of body parts (amputations) was also relatively common in mining and quarrying (1.2 %), as well as manufacturing (1.0 %) and agriculture, forestry and fishing (0.9 %) compared with the overall average (0.4 %).
Burns, scalds and frostbite were 3.9 times as common in accommodation and food service activities (5.7 %) as the average for all activities (1.4 %).
Poisoning and infections were particularly common in human health and social work activities (23.7 %) and to a lesser extent in public administration and defence (7.2 %) compared with the average for all activities (5.8 %).

Figure 5: Non-fatal accidents at work by type of injury and economic activity, EU, 2020
(% of non-fatal accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_07)

Fatal accidents at work

For fatal accidents in the EU in 2020, the most commonly observed injury types were concussion and internal injuries (20.3 %) and multiple injuries (19.6 %), followed by poisoning and infections (12.5 %) and bone fractures (10.0 %).

Concussion and internal injuries were the most common type of injuries in 2020 for 5 of the 10 activities shown in Figure 6: agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade, and administrative and support service activities.
Multiple injuries were the most common for mining and quarrying, as well as for transportation and storage.
Poisoning and infections were the most common for accommodation and food service activities, public administration and defence, and human health and social work activities.
Bone fractures were relatively common for agriculture, forestry and fishing (19.5 % of fatal accidents).

Less common types of injuries resulting from fatal workplace accidents included the following.

Wounds and superficial injuries – these were relatively common within agriculture, forestry and fishing (6.8 %), compared with the average for all activities (5.6 %).
Accidents involving drowning and asphyxiation – these were much more common than the overall average (3.0 %) for mining and quarrying (12.5 %), and for agriculture, forestry and fishing (8.5 %).
Burns, scalds and frostbite – these were much more than common in mining and quarrying (4.2 %) and manufacturing (2.9 %) than they were across all activities (1.3 %).

Figure 6: Fatal accidents at work by type of injury and economic activity, EU, 2020
(% of fatal accidents for each activity)
Source: Eurostat (hsw_n2_07)

Source data for tables and graphs

Accidents at work by economic activity: tables and figures

Data sources

In December 2008, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work. The Regulation is designed to ensure that health statistics provide adequate information for all EU Member States to monitor Community actions in the field of public health and health and safety at work. In April 2011, a European Commission Regulation (EU) No 349/2011 on statistics on accidents at work was adopted specifying in detail the variables, breakdowns and metadata that EU Member States are required to deliver - this legislation is being implemented in a number of phases. Note also that a Commission Decision No 2011/231/EU from April 2011 granted derogations to certain EU Member States with respect to the transmission of statistics on accidents at work.

European statistics on accidents at work (ESAW) is the main data source for EU statistics relating to health and safety at work issues. ESAW includes data on occupational accidents that result in at least four calendar days of absence from work, including fatal accidents. The phrase "during the course of work" means while engaged in an occupational activity or during the time spent at work. This generally includes cases of road traffic accidents in the course of work but excludes accidents during the journey between home and the workplace.

An accident at work is defined in ESAW methodology as a discrete occurrence during the course of work which leads to physical or mental harm. Fatal accidents at work are those that lead to the death of the victim within one year of the accident taking place. Non-fatal accidents at work are defined as those that imply at least four full calendar days of absence from work (they are sometimes also called "serious accidents at work"). Non-fatal accidents at work often involve considerable harm for the workers concerned and their families and they have the potential to force people, for example, to live with a permanent disability, to leave the labour market, or to change job. Indeed, they may result in a considerable number of working days being lost within the EU's economy.

The statistics presented for accidents at work refer to declarations made to either public (social security administrations) or private insurance schemes, or to other relevant national authorities (for example, those controlling labour or workplace inspections). Indicators on accidents at work may be presented as absolute values, as percentage distributions, as incidence rates in relation to every 100 000 persons employed (the denominator being provided by the authorities in the EU Member States that are responsible for ESAW data collection or by the EU's labour force survey (LFS)) or as standardised incidence rates.

For more information on ESAW data please refer to the main article on Accidents at work statistics.

Context

A safe, healthy working environment is a crucial factor in an individual's quality of life and is also a collective interest. EU Member State governments recognise the social and economic benefits of better health and safety at work. Reliable, comparable, up-to-date statistical information is vital for setting policy objectives and adopting suitable policy measures and preventative actions.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, preventive measures were put in place with the aim of limiting the spread of the Coronavirus and to combat the epidemic. Amongst these, some working activities were either completely stopped or restricted by many employers. In some cases, the employers applied the method of working remotely or working from home. This had a direct impact on all economic sectors. For the economic sectors where the activity was stopped or reduced, the number of accidents decreased. Inactivity or reduced activity in certain sectors resulted in a decreased number of workers and therefore showed unusual decrease in reported accidents at work. On the opposite end, in certain sectors the COVID-19 pandemic generated an increase in the activity, for example, human health activities, residential care activities or social work activities without accommodation. Therefore, the increased activity generated generally higher numbers of reported accidents at work, especially when the cases of COVID-19 of occupational origin were included according to the national practice and legislation. Public services that deal with the administrations in charge of receiving notifications, reporting, investigations and recognition of accidents at work could have functioned with limited capacities. The impact of all the actions described above, led to a decrease in the reported number of accidents at work in the data collection for the reference year 2020 (compared with the previous reference year), for the majority of the ESAW reporting countries.

For more information on health and safety at work policy, please refer to the main article on Accidents at work statistics.