223,300 NZ work related claims made last year

Tāmaki Makaurau - A total of 223,300 New Zealand work-related claims were made last year, up 4800 incidents in 2020, Stats NZ says.

In 2021, the incidence rate of all injury claims was 90 claims per 1000 full time equivalent employees (FTEs).

The age group with the highest incidence rate of claims in 2021 was the oldest workers, aged 75 and over, with 134 claims per 1000 FTEs.

The region with the highest incidence rate of claims in 2021 was Gisborne-Hawke’s Bay, with 140 claims per 1000 FTEs.

The industry with the highest incidence rate of claims in 2021 was agriculture, forestry, and fishing, with 172 claims per 1000 FTEs.

There were 39,000 work related injury claims involving more serious claims in 2021 which was an increase of 1100 since 2020.

Entitlement claims include additional payments such as death benefits, loss of earning payments, lump sums, and rehabilitation payments.

The total number of fatal work-related injury claims in 2021 was 54. This is the lowest number of fatal claims in a single year since the series began in 2002.

In 2021, the incidence rate of all injury claims was 90 claims per 1000 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). This is the second-lowest rate since the start of the series in 2002.

The incidence rate for claims involving entitlement payments was 16 claims per 1000 FTEs in 2021. This is the same rate as that in 2017, 2018, and 2020.

The incidence rate for injury claims for male and female workers was 112 claims per 1000 FTEs and 62 claims per 1000 FTEs respectively.

The proportion of work-related injury claims made by men has decreased over time, while claims by women have increased, reducing the gap. In 2021, men made 154,100 claims or 69 percent of all claims and women made 69,200 claims, 31 percent of all claims.

The oldest workers (aged 75 and over) had the highest incidence rate of claims in 2021, with 134 claims per 1000 FTEs. This is the lowest rate for this age group since the start of the series. However, the small proportion of people working over the age of 75 means they only made up one percent of all injury claims.

The second highest was the 15 to 24 year old age group at 128 claims per 1000 FTEs.

Trades workers have had the highest number of claims by occupation since 2007. In 2021, they made 39,500 claims. This was an increase of 1600 since 2020.

Plant and machine operators and assemblers made the most claims involving entitlement payments in 2021, with 8100 claims (21 percent of all entitlement claims).