There has been a substantial reduction in work-related injury rates and numbers in Great Britain since 1974. Research suggests that about a half of this reduction is due to changing patterns of employment. The picture for work-related ill health is much less clear, mainly because comprehensive data has only begun to be available in the last decade or so.

Headline trends

For injuries, between 1974 and 2007:

• the number of fatal injuries to employees fell by 73%;
• the rate of fatal injury (per 100 000 employees) fell by 76%;
• the number of reported non-fatal injuries fell by 70%;
• there have been reductions in injury rates and numbers in all main industry sectors
• around 24% of the reduction in the rate of fatal injury in the last 10 years can be attributed to a shift in employment away from manufacturing and heavy industry to lower risk service industries;
• recent research suggests that about 50% of the reduction in non-fatal injury rate since 1986 is due to changes in occupations of workers.

For work-related ill health, the only consistent data going back to 1974 relate to certain lung diseases. Between 1974 and 2005:

• deaths from pneumoconiosis fell;
• deaths from asbestos-related diseases rose (but current cases arise mainly from exposure to asbestos 30-40 years ago);

Comprehensive data based on the Labour Force Survey are available on an ad hoc basis since 1990. Based on self-reported illness these suggest that between 1990 and 2006/07:

• work-related illness prevalence fell;
• prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders fell;
• prevalence of stress-related ill health rose;
• the shift in employment may not have contributed to the overall fall (some service sectors have relatively high rates of self-reported illness).

Earliest and latest data on injuries and ill health since the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Workplace injury	Earliest	Latest
	1974	2006/07
Fatal injuries to employees (excluding health, education and public administration) 1	651	175
Rate of fatal injury per 100 000 employees	2.9	0.7
Number of non-fatal injuries (excluding health, education and public administration) 2	336 701	101 729
Occupational diseases	1974	2005
Deaths from pneumoconiosis 3	453	210
Deaths from asbestosis	25	373
Deaths from mesothelioma 4	243	2 037
Rate of self-reported work-related illness 5 (prevalence per 100 000 employed in the last 12 months)	1990	2006/07
Overall	5940	4 730
Musculoskeletal disorders	2750	2 200
Stress and related conditions 6	820	1 620

1. In 1974 the injuries figures were limited to production and some service sectors.
2. Since 1974 three changes of reporting regulations have occurred, each of which changed the definitions of the serious/major injury category. Earlier figures suffer from under-reporting as today's figures do, but to an unknown extent.
3. Excluding asbestosis.
4. An asbestos-related cancer. The rise was driven by increasing asbestos usage up to the mid 1960s; the effect of subsequent reductions in asbestos usage are starting to be seen the fall in the numbers of male deaths from this cancer in younger age groups.
5. Estimates of self-reported work-related illness are based on results from the Labour Force Survey. They have been adjusted such that the coverage is approximately consistent ( e.g. limited to people who worked in the last 12 months in England and Wales only), and even then are still affected by factors such as differences in survey design and level of information collected.
6. It is probable that awareness of and attitudes to work-related stress changed during the 1990s, and this may have increased reporting. Between 2001/02 and 2004/05, the earlier rise in the numbers appeared to level off, and has since fluctuated.