Accidents at work: 3 million incidents in the EU
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According to Eurostat, there were 2.97 million non-fatal accidents at work in the European Union in 2022 in which the victims were absent from work for at least four days. This is 4.6 per cent less than in 2017 (-143,031 cases), but remains a significant figure.
Fatal incidents totalled 3,286, representing 0.1 per cent of the total - a figure almost unchanged from 2017 (3,272).
Sectors with the highest number of incidents:
- Industrial production: 535,977 cases (18 per cent),
- Health and social services: 469,764 cases (15.8 per cent),
- Construction: 364,486 cases (12.2 per cent).
Interestingly, most economic sectors saw a decrease in the number of incidents compared to 2017. However, three sectors showed an increase:
- Health and social work: +133,470 cases,
- Education: +15,432,
- Construction: +11,232.
The trend in healthcare is particularly worrying, with the number of incidents rising from 336,294 in 2017 to 469,764 in 2022. The only exception was 2021, when a decrease to 384,721 incidents was recorded.
The most common were incidents resulting in absence from work for 7 to 13 days - 814,390 cases (27.4%). Absence for 4 to 6 days (558,678) ranked second, and injuries resulting in absences of one to three months (531,936) ranked third.
Cases with the greatest severity - permanent disability or absence from work for more than 183 days - accounted for 133,090 cases (4.5 per cent). These are only fewer than fatalities and "unspecified" accidents.
