Arkansas Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Data 2023-2024

Arkansas Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Biennial Case and Demographic Data for Private Sector 2023-2024

01/23/2026

Little Rock – The Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing has released the 2023-2024 non-fatal biennial case and demographic private sector data in the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII).

We began biennial publication of estimates involving workplace injury and illness cases with days away from work (DAFW) and days of job transfer or restriction (DJTR) by detailed case characteristics and worker demographics for the period of 2021-2022. This data will now be published every 2 years.

Private industry sectors reported 10,980 injuries and illnesses involving cases with days away from work (DAFW) over the 2-year period 2023 and 2024.

• Of these cases, 6,200 or 56.5% were male, and 4,720 or 43% were female.
• The age group of 45 to 54 had 2,390 or 21.8% of the cases.
• 3,550 or 32.3% of these cases had a length of service with employer of 1 to 5 years.
• Race or ethnic origin – White only workers had 4,100 cases or 37.3%. Black only workers had 1,380 cases or 12.6%. Hispanic or Latino only workers had 620 cases or 5.6%. Other races or ethnic origins totaled 90 cases or 0.9%; while 4,790 or 43.6% did not report race or ethnic origin.
• The median days away from work was 7 days.
• Nursing assistants had 1,060 cases with DAFW. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers had 930 cases with DAFW. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, all by hand had 620 cases. Retail salespersons had 400 cases.
• Nature of injury or illness – Sprains, strains, and tears had 2,880 cases. Coronavirus-novel had 1,720 cases. Fractures had 1,310 cases. Bruises and contusions had 880 cases; Cuts, lacerations, punctures without injury to internal structures had 800 cases.
• Part of body affected – There were 3,170 cases with upper extremities (shoulder, arm, wrist, hand, and finger(s)) affected. There were 2,340 cases with lower extremities (knee, ankle, foot, toes) affected. There were 2,130 cases with body systems affected. There were 1,720 cases with the trunk affected, with back injuries totaling 1,350 of these cases.
• Source of injury or illness – Ground, travel, and support surfaces totaled 1,980 cases. Parts and materials had 1,410 cases. Containers had 1,130 cases.

• Event or exposure – There were 2,720 cases with falls, slips, or trips, including 1,940 cases with slip, trip, stumble, or fall on same level. There were 2,540 cases of contact incidents, including 1,230 cases with contact with non-running object or equipment. There were 2,470 cases of overexertion, repetitive motion, and bodily conditions, including 1,840 cases with overexertion while moving or manipulating external object(s). There were 2,390 cases with exposure to harmful substances or environments – the event or exposure category that includes cases of COVID-19. There were 600 transportation incidents, including 410 roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle. There were 190 cases of violent acts by other person; and 50 cases with explosions or fires.
  Private industry sectors reported 7,090 injuries and illnesses involving cases with days of job transfer or restriction (DJTR) over the 2-year period 2023 and 2024.

• Of these cases, 4,460 or 62.9% were male, and 2,620 or 37% were female.

• The age group of 25 to 34 had 1,670 or 23.6% of the cases.

• 2,580 or 36.4% of these cases had a length of service with employer of 1 to 5 years.

• Race or ethnic origin – White only workers had 2,580 cases or 36.4%. Black only workers had 510 cases or 7.2%. Hispanic or Latino only workers had 600 cases or 8.5%. Other races or ethnic origins totaled 70 cases or 1.0%; while 3,310 or 46.7% did not report race or ethnic origin.

• The median days of job transfer or restriction was 15 days.

• Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, all by hand had 510 cases with DJTR. Light truck drivers had 470 cases. Retail salespersons had 410 cases.

• Nature of injury or illness – Sprains, strains, and tears had 3,310 cases. Bruises and contusions had 770 cases. Cuts, lacerations, and punctures without injury to internal structures had 730 cases.

• Part of body affected – There were 3,200 cases with upper extremities affected. There were 1,640 cases with lower extremities affected. There were 1,310 cases with the trunk affected, with back injuries totaling 1,110 of these cases.

• Source of injury or illness – Containers had 1,270 cases. Ground, travel, and support surfaces had 1,150 cases. Parts and materials had 880 cases.

• Event or exposure – There were 2,760 cases of DJTR with overexertion, repetitive motion, and bodily conditions, including 2,020 cases with overexertion while moving or manipulating external object(s). There were 2,030 cases of contact incidents. There were 1,510 cases with falls, slips, or trips. There were 380 transportation incidents. There were 130 cases with exposure to harmful substances or environment. There were also 130 cases of explosions or fire; and 120 cases of violent acts by other person.
  Days away from work (DAFW). Injuries or illnesses for which employees used days away from work (beyond the day of injury or onset of illness) to recover from an occupational injury or illness. The number of days away from work is determined by the number of calendar days after the date of the injury or illness, before an employee returns to work. These cases may include days of job transfer or restricted work activity in addition to days away from work. For example, an employee suffers a work-related injury resulting in five days away from work and upon returning to work, the employee is unable to perform normal duties associated with the job for an additional three days (i.e., the employee was on restricted work activity). This case would be recorded as a days-away-from-work case with five days away from work and three days of restricted work activity. It would not be recorded as a days-of-job-transfer-or-restriction case.

Days of job transfer or restriction (DJTR). Days-of-job-transfer-or-restriction cases are those injuries and illnesses which result only in job transfer or restricted work activity without days away from work. This occurs when, as the result of a work-related injury or illness, an employer or healthcare professional recommends keeping an employee from doing the routine functions of his or her job or from working the full workday that the employee would have been scheduled to work before the injury or illness occurred. This may include the following instances:

• An employee is assigned to another job on a temporary basis
• An employee works at a permanent job less than full time
• An employee works at a permanently assigned job but is unable to perform all duties normally connected with the job Detailed tables and charts for cases with days away from work (DAFW), days with job transfer or restriction (DJTR), and days away from work, job transfer, or restriction (DART) for private and/or public sectors are available for 2023-2024 upon request.

Occupational injuries and illnesses collected in the SOII include cases of COVID-19 when a worker was infected as a result of performing their work-related duties and met other recordkeeping criteria. COVID-19 is considered a respiratory illness under criteria established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

This news release is the second of four releases this year covering occupational safety and health statistics in Arkansas. The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) was administered by the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Division of Labor, OSH/CFOI Section, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 2017 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS 2017) was used to group company data by industry. Arkansas employers are randomly selected for the survey each year.

For additional information, please go to www.bls.gov/iif (current and archived data for national and by individual state), www.labor.arkansas.gov, or www.bls.gov/iif/state-data.htm#AR.

Fatal occupational injuries for calendar year 2024 were not included in this study. A separate publication for the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) will be issued February 19th, 2026.

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