title: Costs of occupational injury and illness across states.
abstract: The objective of this study was to estimate occupational injury and illness costs per worker across states. Analysis was conducted on injury data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and costs data from workers' compensation records. The following states were at the top of the list for average cost (cost per worker): West Virginia, Alaska, Wyoming, Kentucky, and Mississippi. The following states were at the bottom: South Carolina, Delaware, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The following variables (and signs on regression coefficients comparing this industry with manufacturing) were important in explaining the variation across states: employment in farming (+), agricultural service, forestry, fishing (+), mining (+), transportation and public utilities (+), wholesale trade (-), and finance, insurance, real estate (-). Southern and especially Western states were disproportionately represented in the high cost per worker list. A significant amount of the variation in cost per worker across states was explained by the composition of industries.
authors.affiliation: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Calverton, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Geetha
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Waehrer
authors.forename: J Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Leigh
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cassady
authors.forename: Ted R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012042:Registries; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014942:Workers' Compensation / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data