Work Relatively Safe In Massachusetts

The rate of work-related injuries and illnesses was four per 100 full-time workers in 2007, according to a state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development Division of Occupational Safety survey.

That rate takes into account the 89,600 non-fatal injuries and illnesses reported among the state's 2.8 million private-sector workers, and is the lowest in New England.

The national incidence rate in 2007 was 4.2 cases per 100 full-time workers.

Construction workers experienced the highest rate of injury, 6.1 per 100 workers while those in financial activities saw the lowest, 1.3 per 100.

Slightly more than half of all injury cases last year resulted in days away from work, job transfer or restriction.