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87 – Weighting and Estimation of Complex Survey Data
The Seasonal Timing of Work-related Injuries
Brooks Pierce
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) is an establishment survey designed to produce annual estimates of nonfatal workplace injury counts and rates. The SOII collects substantial detail on worker and case characteristics, including the injury date, for injuries that lead to lost work time. I utilize this information to show within-year patterns of the timing of injuries. More injuries occur during the summer months than at other times of the year. In addition, injuries are much less frequently reported near the end of the calendar year. Lower end-of-year injury rates are more pronounced for types of injuries that are harder to verify, suggesting a reporting effect whereby some injuries may not be identified in time for respondents to report them to the survey. These patterns largely survive controls for changing hours worked and changing industrial and occupational composition of work over the year.