Warmly dressed construction workers on a building site on a frosty day in Jätkäsaari, Helsinki, on January 2, 2023. LEHTIKUVA
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In 2023, Finland witnessed a modest rise in the number of workplace accidents compared to the previous year, according to recent statistics. The total number of workplace accidents reached 114,500, including 92,200 incidents at the workplace and 22,300 commuting accidents. This represents a 1.8% increase in overall workplace accidents, with on-the-job accidents up by 2.1% and commuting accidents by 0.5% from 2022.
The frequency of workplace accidents also saw a slight increase to 25.9 accidents per million working hours, up from 25.5 in 2022, marking a 1.6% rise. This frequency rate helps to contextualize the number of workplace accidents relative to the amount of work performed, providing a clearer insight into potential changes in accident rates over time.
Marja Kaari from the Accident Insurance Center noted that there was little change in the number of workplace accidents and their frequency from last year. However, there was a slight increase in the combined accident frequency across all sectors, with some sectors experiencing a noticeable deterioration in their workplace accident situation.
Contrary to most sectors, the municipal sector and the private health and social services sector saw an increase in both the number of workplace accidents and their frequency rates last year.
Regionally, the lowest accident frequency was in Ostrobothnia, with 20 accidents per million worked hours, and the highest in Satakunta, with 34 accidents per million worked hours. These regional differences can be attributed to varying industrial structures and local weather conditions, which particularly affect mobility accidents.
Meanwhile, the number of workplace accidents among voluntarily insured self-employed individuals continued to decline. Last year, there were 5,000 workplace accidents among this group, with 4,500 occurring at the workplace and 500 during commutes between home and work.
Entrepreneurs have the option to take out voluntary workplace accident and occupational disease insurance, meaning only a portion of the workplace accidents that occur among entrepreneurs are reflected in the statistics of the Accident Insurance Center.
The Accident Insurance Center plans to release sector-specific analyses of the previous year’s workplace accident statistics in the coming spring and early summer. Additionally, a forecast for the number of workplace accidents for the current year is expected to be published between September and October 2024.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
