New figures show North Carolina’s nonfatal workplace injury and illness rate for private industry declined to a historic low in 2017. The 2017 rate is 2.3 cases per 100 full-time workers, a drop from 2.5 in 2016. The Tar Heel state remains one of the safest states in which to work with a rate below the national rate of 2.8 cases per 100 full-time workers.

“With this decline, North Carolina’s rate has hit an unprecedented low,” Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry said. “The downward trend speaks to a safety and health culture that has taken root in businesses throughout North Carolina, and I give employers and employees much of the credit for this drop.”

As a State-Plan state, North Carolina’s Occupational Safety and Health Division focuses on hazardous industries like construction and manufacturing by implementing special emphasis programs, providing free education and training, conducting free safety and health consultative visits, and establishing partnerships and alliances.

The 2017 private industry rate for construction was 1.8 cases per 100 full-time workers, below the national rate of 3.1. The 2017 rate for manufacturing remained the same at 2.9 cases per 100 full-time workers, below the national rate of 3.5.

“This is positive news for North Carolina workplaces,” Commissioner Berry said. “The rate accounts for economic growth, which is an important factor when you consider the growth North Carolina has experienced over the years.”