"Revitalising" targets: ill health, injury and absence missing

Judgment day for the three core 10-year health and safety targets has left the HSE curiously silent, reports Howard Fidderman.

On this page:
Ill health
      Supporting ill-health evidence
      Fatal diseases
Injuries
      Non-fatal injuries reach record lows
Agriculture lets sectors down
HSB's "Revitalising" verdicts
Table 1: Rate of work-related ill health
Table 2: Injuries reported to enforcing authorities
Table 3: Reported injuries, by industry
Table 4: Working days lost due to work-related ill health and injuries.

October 27 was supposed to be judgment day - the date on which the HSE and National Statistics pronounced whether or not the UK had met the three injury, ill-health and absence 10-year targets set by the Government and the then HSC (the predecessor of the HSE Board) in their 2000 "Revitalising health and safety" strategy. But when the HSE published its report on ill health and injuries (PDF format, 2.27MB) (external website) for the year to 31 March 2010, it chose not to state whether the targets had been met, even though the report and supporting tables (external website) provide the same data that have allowed it previously to comment annually on whether or not it was on track to meet the targets. In fact, the HSE does not even mention "Revitalising" or the targets anywhere in its report or in its note on progress (PDF format, 50K) (external website) since 2002.

An HSE spokesperson told HSB that the HSE had not referred to the targets because the coalition Government had not adopted them, but that officials were preparing an "open" paper on the targets that the HSE Board would consider "in due course". This explanation does not, however, address the fact that the end of the 10-year period - 31 March 2010 - occurred before the general election; nor that it potentially invalidates any government targets that span an election. It also pays scant regard to the fact that for the best part of the decade, the HSE has exhorted stakeholders to take "Revitalising" action towards securing the targets and has, every year until now, reported on how they were doing. It is, for the moment at least, as if the targets never existed.

So until the HSE publishes a judgment, HSB readers will have to make do with our own verdict. Using the same assessment criteria that the HSE has deployed in past years, HSB's analysis "calls" the results as follows:

  • the target for reducing work-related ill health by 20% has not been met;
  • the target for reducing the rate of fatal and major injuries by 10% has been met and bettered; and
  • the target for reducing the average number of days lost per worker from work-related ill health and injuries by 30% has probably been met.

Ill health

The estimates in the HSE/National Statistics report for the incidence of work-related ill health are based largely on the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which questions 50,000 people every three months about a range of issues, including work-related health. As such, the incidence is "self-reported", reflecting individuals' views rather than a medical diagnosis (although a proportion of these individuals will obviously have consulted a doctor). The ill-health totals used by the HSE and reviewed in this feature are therefore "central estimates" between 95% confidence levels, although they are broadly supported by GP survey schemes run by the Health and Occupation Reporting network (THOR and THOR-GP).

Analysis of the LFS data indicates that 1,266,000 people who had worked in the 12 months before the day they were questioned by the LFS claimed they suffered from work-related ill health, as did a further 800,000 former workers who had not worked in the previous 12 months. Around 555,000 of the 1,266,000 said their conditions had started during the year. As in previous years, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and mental health issues were the most commonly reported problems, accounting for 572,000 and 435,000 of the 1,266,000 cases respectively. There were also 57,000 cases of breathing or lung problems and 38,000 infectious diseases.

Although the rate of self-reported work-related ill health is now significantly lower than at the start of the decade, it appears to have increased between 2008/09 and 2009/10. Table 1 shows that in 2009/10, 1,860 workers in every 100,000 employed in the previous 12 months attributed an ill-health condition to their work; the rate in 2008/09 was 50 fewer, although it should be noted that because the real rates could lie anywhere between the 95% confidence levels, the central estimates could even be masking an improvement rather than a deterioration. The same applies to individual conditions, with MSDs remaining stable, but stress, depression and anxiety and "other illnesses" increasing over the two years.

Supporting ill-health evidence

The LFS data are broadly supported by the findings of a surveillance scheme that started in 2005, involving 300 GPs. This suggests an incidence of work-related ill health of 1,500 cases per 100,000 workers (which is a little below the LFS estimate) and that, between 2007 and 2009, MSDs were the most common type of work-related illness, but that mental health problems caused more lost work days:

  • MSDs (53% of cases and 37% days lost);
  • mental ill health (31% and 55%);
  • skin disease (10% and 3%) (a separate surveillance scheme shows hospital dermatologists reporting more than 1,300 cases of work-related dermatitis in 2009);
  • other diagnoses (4% and 4%);
  • respiratory diseases (2% and 2%); and
  • audiological disorders (0.4% and 1%).

The HSE adds that the THOR data show statistically significant decreases in occupational asthma, skin disease and vibration-induced conditions.

The number of cases that qualified for industrial injuries disablement benefit (IIDB) continued to fall, reaching 7,100 in 2009. The most common categories were: arthritis of the knee in miners (although this is largely because it was added to the list of prescribed conditions in 2009); vibration white finger; carpal tunnel syndrome; and respiratory diseases associated with exposure to substances such as asbestos and coal dust (asbestos-related IIDB awards are the only category of disease where the number of cases is increasing).

Fatal diseases

In terms of fatal diseases, the HSE attributes an estimated 8,000 cancer deaths to occupational exposure to carcinogens. These overall figures are unchanged from last year's report, which acknowledged that the HSE had underestimated the cancer toll in earlier years. There is ongoing work into the incidence of work-related cancers: many commentators believe that even the revised toll of 8,000 deaths per year remains a significant underestimate. The total includes about 4,000 asbestos-related deaths, with mesothelioma accounting for 2,249 deaths in 2008 (1,865 male and 384 female), continuing a year-on-year rise that is predicted to peak at 2,000 male deaths in 2016.

The HSE adds that around 4,000 deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may be related to workplace exposure to fumes, chemicals and dusts (15% of all such deaths). This total is unchanged from the 2008/09 estimate.

Injuries

As in recent years, the HSE released the statistics for fatal injuries in the summer because they are easier to compile, with little risk of under-reporting. The October report makes only the most marginal of adjustments to the figures published in June, so we will not dwell on them here. In short, the numbers and rates of employees and self-employed workers who sustained fatal injuries from work-related activities in the year to 31 March 2010 were all the lowest on record:

  • 152 workers (111 employees and 41 self-employed) sustained fatal injuries at work (an increase of one on the summer report). The total is 26 fewer than the 178 fatalities reported in 2008/09 (126 employees and 52 self-employed), and 31% lower than the average of 220 for the five years to 2008/09 inclusive (166 employees and 53 self-employed - the averages are "rounded"); and
  • the fatal injury rate was 0.5 per 100,000 workers (0.4 for employees and 1.0 for the self-employed). All three are below the previous year's respective rates of 0.6, 0.5 and 1.3, with the worker rate 30% below the five-year average of 0.7.

Non-fatal injuries reach record lows

The numbers and rates of employees who suffered a major injury or an over-three-day injury at work in 2009/10 were all at their lowest levels on record (see table 2). The equivalent statistics for the self-employed are the lowest since early in the decade and, when combined with the returns for employees, provide the lowest number and rate of major injuries to workers on record. But under-reporting of non-fatal injuries for the self-employed is so rife that little should be read into the self-employed statistics, and most of our analysis of non-fatal injuries therefore concentrates on employees who, in 2009/10, suffered:

  • 26,061 reported major injuries, at a rate of 101.5 per 100,000 employees - that is one-fifth lower than in 1996/97, the first year after the HSE changed the definition of what constitutes a major injury; and
  • 95,369 reported over-three-day injuries - the first time the total has fallen below 100,000 - at a rate of 371.5 per 100,000 employees - that is more than one-third lower than in 1996/97.

Slipping or tripping (41%) and falls from a height (16%) were the most common causes of major injuries to employees, while handling, lifting or carrying (36%) and slipping and tripping (24%) were the top causes of over-three-day injuries.

Non-fatal injuries - even to employees - are blighted by significant under-reporting, so the HSE checks RIDDOR rates against the estimated rate of reportable injury from the LFS, which in 2009/10 was 840 per 100,000 workers, meaning that the RIDDOR major and over-three-day injury rate of 473 per 100,000 workers constitutes a reporting level of 57%. Although this is 1% lower than the 2008/09 level of 58% (when the RIDDOR and LFS rates were 504 and 870 respectively), the HSE advises that the level of reporting in the past two years is statistically significantly higher than previous years, where levels hovered between 50% and 54%. Looked at another way, however, employers are still failing to report more than four in 10 reportable injuries.

Agriculture lets sectors down

Within the five main industrial sectors, there were record lows in 2009/10 for:

  • fatal injury totals in the manufacturing, construction and services sectors, although each sector's rates in the year has been equalled or bettered in one or more previous years;
  • major injury totals in the extractive and utility supply, manufacturing and construction sectors, and the major injury rates in manufacturing and construction;
  • over-three-day injury totals and rates in all but the agriculture sector.

In fact, agriculture was the only sector where the number of worker deaths increased between 2008/09 and 2009/10, from 25 to 38; the fatality rate also rose, from 5.4 to 8.2 per 100,000 workers. The sector also endured a rise in the number of major injuries to its employees, from 528 to 561, and in the rate, from 203.1 to 242.1 - its highest levels for seven years. There was slightly better news for the sector in respect of over-three-day injuries, where the total fell from 1,159 to 1,066, although the rate rose from 445.8 to 460.1.

Elsewhere, the numbers of major injuries to employees between 2008/09 and 2009/10 fell in:

  • the extractive sector from 353 to 344 (although the rate rose from 205.5 to 207.0 per 100,000 employees);
  • manufacturing from 4,518 to 4,105 (and in the rate, from 171.6 to 162.4);
  • construction from 3,307 to 2,585 (and in the rate, from 266.7 to 230.0); and
  • services from 19,188 to 18,566 (and in the rate, from 86.8 to 85.6).

The same four sectors reported falls in over-three-day injuries from:

  • 1,177 to 930 in the extractive sector (and in the rate, from 685.1 to 559.6 per 100,000 employees);
  • 17,874 to 15,047 in manufacturing (and in the rate, from 678.9 to 608.5);
  • 6,815 to 5,651 in construction (and in the rate, from 549.5 to 502.9); and
  • 78,236 to 72,675 in services (and in the rate, from 353.7 to 335.3).

HSB's "Revitalising" verdicts

"Revitalising" set a target of reducing the incidence of self-reported work-related ill health by 20% by 2009/10. In the event, the incidence fell by 15% (within a range of possibilities of 7% to 23%), meaning that the target has not been achieved. (Although the "Revitalising" base year was 1999/2000, comparable ill-health data within the LFS only started two years later, so the HSE uses a baseline of 2001/02.)

The HSE appears implicitly to blame stress for much of the failure, advising that while the incidence of MSDs has fallen significantly over the period, that for stress remained "of a similar order" over the period. Table 1, however - and the HSE bases its judgment on the same figures - shows that the incidence rates per 100,000 employed in the previous 12 months fell from 750 to 630 for MSD cases and from 890 to 780 stress cases, ie falls of 120 and 110 respectively. The difference between the stress and MSD decreases is therefore only 10 per 100,000 cases and, even though the decrease in MSDs is more significant because the percentage change is higher, the HSE's view that there has essentially been no improvement in the incidence of stress appears at least questionable. When HSB asked the HSE to clarify its position on stress, a spokesperson explained: "Once the confidence intervals are taken into account, and the potential degree of variation is considered, the scale of the change for stress for 2009/10 is close to, but not actually statistically significantly lower than, that for 2001/02 - that being the case we think our classification is fair, while of course accepting that levels have reduced."

"Revitalising" set a target of a 10% reduction in the rate of fatal and major injuries suffered by employees between 1999/2000 and 2009/10. In the event, the decrease was 13%, from a rate of 117.3 to 102.0 per 100,000 employees. As we noted last year, however, research had attributed a rise in major injuries in 2003/04 to a change in recording systems, and the HSE had therefore adjusted the pre-2003/04 figures to reflect this change, meaning that the starting point rate in 1999/2000 was actually 131.1, which gives a 22% decrease in the fatal and major injury rate over the 10 years (and a 33% drop in the over-three-day injury rate). Whichever figures are used - and the HSE describes 22% as a "reasonably conservative estimate" - the target has clearly been met and bettered. The size of the improvement is supported by the LFS data, which point to a statistically significant fall of 45% in reportable non-fatal injuries since 1999/2000, within a range of 37% to 54%. Taking the findings together, the HSE concludes it is "reasonable to estimate that the rate of work-related injury has fallen by at least 30% over the 10-year period".

The third "Revitalising" target was a 30% reduction between 1999/2000 and 2009/10 in the average number of working days lost per worker from work-related ill health and injuries. The LFS, however, does not have data that allow this comparison: comparable statistics for injuries date from 2000/01, while those for ill health are available only from 2001/02. The HSE therefore calculates the baseline as an annual average for 2000-02, since when the average number of days lost per worker has fallen by 30%, within a confidence range of 20% to 40%. The 30% is based on a 28% fall for work-related ill health and a 39% decrease for injuries (see table 4).

The HSE's separate progress "note" describes the 30% reduction as "statistically significant", implying that it considers the 30% "Revitalising" target to have been met. We should note as a precaution, however, that the HSE last year advised that it was "probably on track" to meet the target, when the average number of days lost had fallen by 29.5% against the pro rata target of 27%. Given that the rate has improved by a further 0.5% only, ie progress has slowed over the past year so that the 10-year average is not as good as may have been anticipated after nine years, the HSE may be circumspect in its final verdict.

Regardless, the improvement is marked: almost 40 million days per year were lost at the start of the decade from work-related ill health and injury; 10 years on, the total has fallen to fewer than 28.5 million per year. The decrease of almost 11.5 million days is, advises the HSE, statistically significant for both injury and ill-health absence, with the latter contributing most of the lost days (23.4 million in 2009/10). For individual employers, the easiest way of looking at the figures is that each worker is, on average, off sick because of work-related ill health or injury for half a day less at the end of the decade than at the start.

Howard Fidderman is editor of Health and Safety Bulletin.

Table 1: Rate of work-related ill health1

 

Central estimate

95% confidence intervals

Lower

Upper

ALL ILLNESSES

2001/02

2,190

2,070

2,310

2004/05

1,850

1,730

1,960

2005/06

1,600

1,500

1,800

2006/07

2,090

1,970

2,220

2007/08

1,860

1,740

1,980

2008/09

1,810

1,690

1,940

2009/10

1,860

1,730

1,960

MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS

2001/02

750

680

820

2004/05

650

580

710

2005/06

580

520

650

2006/07

790

710

870

2007/08

590

520

660

2008/09

630

560

700

2009/10

630

550

710

STRESS, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY

2001/02

890

810

960

2004/05

820

750

900

2005/06

660

590

730

2006/07

830

750

910

2007/08

780

700

860

2008/09

760

680

840

2009/10

780

700

870

OTHER ILLNESSES

2001/02

550

490

610

2004/05

380

320

430

2005/06

400

340

460

2006/07

480

420

540

2007/08

490

430

550

2008/09

420

360

480

2009/10

440

380

500

1. Incidence rate per 100,000 employed in previous 12 months.

Source: HSE (2010), "Statistics 2009/10", Labour Force Survey and previous HSBs.

Table 2: Injuries reported to enforcing authorities

 

Fatalities

Major injuries

Over-three-day injuries

Total

Rate2

Total

Rate2

Total

Rate2

EMPLOYEES

1995/96

209

1.0

-3

-3

-3

-3

1996/97

207

0.9

27,964

127.5

127,286

580.1

1997/98

212

0.9

29,187

127.6

134,789

589.2

1998/99

188

0.8

28,368

121.7

132,295

567.3

1999/00

162

0.7

28,652

116.6

135,381

550.9

2000/01

213

0.9

27,524

110.2

134,105

536.9

2001/02

206

0.8

28,011

110.3

129,655

510.7

2002/03

183

0.7

28,113

110.5

128,184

504.0

2003/04

168

0.7

30,689

120.1

131,017

512.9

2004/05

172

0.7

30,451

117.9

121,779

471.6

2005/06

164

0.6

28,914

110.6

119,045

455.4

2006/07

191

0.7

28,544

108.2

114,653

434.7

2007/08

178

0.7

28,199

106.4

110,054

415.1

2008/09

127

0.5

27,894

105.6

105,261

398.4

2009/101

111

0.4

26,061

101.5

95,369

371.5

SELF-EMPLOYED

1995/96

49

1.5

-3

-3

-3

-3

1996/97

80

2.3

1,356

38.4

2,282

64.6

1997/98

62

1.8

815

23.3

984

28.1

1998/99

65

1.9

685

20.2

849

25.2

1999/00

58

1.7

663

19.7

732

21.8

2000/01

79

2.4

630

19.2

715

21.8

2001/02

45

1.3

929

27.8

917

27.5

2002/03

44

1.3

1,079

32.3

951

28.4

2003/04

68

1.8

1,283

33.9

1,114

29.5

2004/05

51

1.3

1,251

33.0

1,143

30.2

2005/06

53

1.4

1,303

34.0

1,223

31.9

2006/07

56

1.4

1,194

30.1

1,146

28.9

2007/08

55

1.4

1,190

29.5

1,121

27.8

2008/09

52

1.3

1,106

27.3

931

23.0

2009/101

41

1.0

1,035

25.3

902

22.0

WORKERS

1995/96

258

1.0

-3

-3

-3

-3

1996/97

287

1.1

29,320

115.1

129,568

508.7

1997/98

274

1.0

30,002

113.8

135,773

514.8

1998/99

253

0.9

29,053

108.8

133,144

498.8

1999/00

220

0.8

29,315

104.9

136,113

487.3

2000/01

292

1.0

28,154

99.6

134,820

477.1

2001/02

251

0.9

28,940

101.2

130,572

456.7

2002/03

227

0.8

29,192

101.9

129,135

450.7

2003/04

236

0.8

31,972

109.3

132,131

451.5

2004/05

223

0.8

31,702

107.1

122,922

415.2

2005/06

217

0.7

30,217

100.7

120,268

400.8

2006/07

247

0.8

29,738

98.4

115,799

383.2

2007/08

233

0.8

29,389

96.2

111,175

363.9

2008/09

179

0.6

29,000

95.2

106,192

348.5

2009/101

152

0.5

27,096

91.0

96,271

323.5

1. Provisional figures.
2. Per 100,000 employees, self-employed or workers (employees and self-employed).
3. Figures pre-1996/97 are not comparable due to changes in Regulations and definitions.

Source: Compiled from HSE (2010), "Statistics 2009/10", supporting tables, similar reports from previous years and previous HSBs.

Table 3: Reported injuries, by industry

 

Year

Agriculture

Extractive

Manufacturing

Construction

Services

All

EMPLOYEES - FATALITIES

Total

1999/00

13

6

38

61

44

162

 

2000/01

13

8

46

73

73

213

2001/02

20

14

47

60

65

206

2002/03

16

3

42

56

66

183

2003/04

6

9

27

52

74

168

2004/05

16

2

42

55

57

172

2005/06

11

5

41

43

64

164

2006/07

14

10

35

54

78

191

2007/08

22

9

32

53

62

178

2008/09

9

6

33

32

47

127

2009/101

17

6

23

30

35

111

Rate2

1999/00

4.5

3.1

1.0

5.5

0.2

0.7

 

2000/01

4.7

4.6

1.2

6.5

0.4

0.9

2001/02

8.0

6.8

1.3

5.2

0.3

0.8

2002/03

6.8

1.6

1.2

5.0

0.3

0.7

2003/04

2.5

5.1

0.8

4.6

0.4

0.7

2004/05

6.2

1.3

1.4

4.7

0.3

0.7

2005/06

4.3

3.3

1.4

3.5

0.3

0.6

2006/07

5.3

6.0

1.2

4.3

0.4

0.7

2007/08

8.5

5.1

1.1

4.2

0.3

0.7

2008/09

3.5

3.5

1.3

2.6

0.2

0.5

2009/101

7.3

3.6

0.9

2.7

0.2

0.4

EMPLOYEES - NON-FATAL MAJOR INJURIES

Total

1999/00

652

467

7,973

4,386

15,174

28,652

 

2000/01

595

467

7,408

4,303

14,751

27,524

2001/02

601

455

7,080

4,055

15,820

28,011

2002/03

575

431

6,688

4,031

16,388

28,113

2003/04

498

401

6,329

3,978

19,483

30,689

2004/05

512

402

6,097

3,768

19,762

30,451

2005/06

465

385

5,410

3,706

18,948

28,914

2006/07

438

388

5,120

3,730

18,868

28,544

2007/08

503

391

5,127

3,710

18,468

28,199

2008/09

528

353

4,518

3,307

19,188

27,894

2009/101

561

344

4,015

2,585

18,566

26,061

Rate2

1999/00

224.4

244.1

204.1

359.9

79.5

116.6

 

2000/01

213.9

267.0

194.2

380.9

75.3

110.2

2001/02

239.0

221.0

197.1

350.7

78.4

110.3

2002/03

244.2

225.7

196.5

359.3

80.0

110.5

2003/04

206.9

228.2

196.5

349.8

93.8

120.1

2004/05

198.6

253.9

198.5

322.7

92.9

117.9

2005/06

182.1

254.0

184.2

305.8

87.8

110.6

2006/07

165.6

232.6

179.8

299.1

86.4

108.2

2007/08

193.8

221.2

183.6

296.2

83.8

106.4

2008/09

203.1

205.5

171.6

266.7

86.8

105.6

2009/101

242.1

207.0

162.4

230.0

85.6

101.5

EMPLOYEES - OVER-THREE-DAY INJURIES

Total

1999/00

1,415

2,401

39,370

10,159

82,036

135,381

 

2000/01

1,372

2,369

38,105

9,367

82,892

134,105

2001/02

1,559

2,252

34,970

9,100

81,774

129,655

2002/03

1,296

1,886

33,104

8,949

82,949

128,184

2003/04

975

1,820

29,956

8,256

90,010

131,017

2004/05

909

1,551

26,305

7,540

85,474

121,779

2005/06

876

1,335

24,126

7,555

85,153

119,045

2006/07

848

1,360

21,866

7,161

83,418

114,653

2007/08

1,081

1,300

20,750

7,483

79,440

110,054

2008/09

1,159

1,177

17,874

6,815

78,236

105,261

2009/101

1,066

930

15,047

5,651

72,675

95,369

Rate2

1999/00

487.0

1,254.9

1007.9

917.0

430.0

550.9

 

2000/01

493.3

1,354.7

998.8

829.2

423.4

536.9

2001/02

619.9

1093.7

973.6

787.0

405.2

510.7

2002/03

550.3

987.4

972.9

797.9

405.0

504.0

2003/04

405.1

1,035.9

930.1

726.0

433.4

512.9

2004/05

352.6

979.8

856.3

645.8

403.8

471.6

2005/06

343.1

880.6

821.5

623.4

394.5

455.4

2006/07

320.6

815.3

767.7

574.2

381.8

434.7

2007/08

416.4

735.3

743.2

597.3

360.6

415.1

2008/091

445.8

685.1

678.9

549.5

353.7

389.4

2009/101

460.1

559.6

608.5

502.9

335.3

371.5

1. Provisional figures.
2. Rate per 100,000 employees.

Source: Compiled from HSE (2010), "Statistics 2009/10", supporting tables, similar reports from previous years and previous HSBs.

Table 4: Working days lost due to work-related ill health and injuries

Type of complaint

Days lost (1,000s)

Days lost per worker

Central estimate

95% confidence intervals

Central estimate

95% confidence intervals

Lower

Upper

Lower

Upper

DUE TO ALL ILL HEALTH AND INJURIES

2000-02

39,817

36,746

42,888

1.76

1.62

1.90

2004/05

35,426

32,528

38,323

1.53

1.41

1.66

2005/06

30,458

27,801

33,115

1.30

1.20

1.40

2006/07

35,736

32,750

38,723

1.55

1.42

1.68

2007/08

33,904

31,090

36,717

1.41

1.29

1.52

2008/09

29,324

26,600

32,100

1.24

1.13

1.36

2009/10

28,527

25,735

31,319

1.23

1.11

1.35

DUE TO ALL ILLNESSES

2001/02

31,752

29,121

34,383

1.40

1.29

1.52

2004/05

28,404

25,722

31,086

1.23

1.11

1.34

2005/06

24,319

21,829

26,809

1.00

0.94

1.20

2006/07

29,963

27,155

32,771

1.30

1.18

1.42

2007/08

27,641

25,006

30,276

1.15

1.04

1.26

2008/09

24,612

22,000

27,200

1.04

0.93

1.15

2009/10

23,430

20,878

25,982

1.01

0.90

1.12

DUE TO ALL INJURIES

2000/01

8,065

7,037

9,093

0.36

0.31

0.40

2004/05

7,021

6,035

8,008

0.30

0.26

0.35

2005/06

6,139

5,232

7,047

0.26

0.23

0.30

2006/07

5,773

4,838

6,708

0.25

0.21

0.29

2007/08

6,262

5,298

7,227

0.26

0.22

0.30

2008/09

4,711

3,941

5,481

0.20

0.17

0.23

2009/10

5,097

4,039

6,155

0.22

0.17

0.26

DUE TO MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS

2001/02

11,810

10,231

13,389

0.52

0.45

0.59

2004/05

11,602

9,761

13,444

0.50

0.42

0.58

2005/06

9,450

7,885

11,015

0.41

0.34

0.48

2006/07

10,715

8,973

12,457

0.46

0.39

0.54

2007/08

8,845

7,422

10,268

0.37

0.31

0.43

2008/09

9,255

7,659

10,851

0.39

0.32

0.46

2009/10

9,308

7,777

10,839

0.40

0.33

0.47

DUE TO STRESS, DEPRESSION OR ANXIETY

2001/02

12,919

11,235

14,603

0.57

0.50

0.64

2004/05

12,820

11,100

14,540

0.55

0.48

0.63

2005/06

10,537

8,934

12,139

0.45

0.39

0.52

2006/07

13,760

11,887

15,633

0.60

0.51

0.68

2007/08

13,539

11,631

15,447

0.56

0.48

0.64

2008/09

11,420

9,594

13,246

0.48

0.41

0.56

2009/10

9,830

8,232

11,428

0.42

0.35

0.49

Source: Compiled from HSE (2010), "Statistics 2009/0" and previous HSBs.