Which workers are most affected by workplace accidents?

In 2019, more than 780,000 workplace accidents were reported with at least one day off, or 20.4 accidents for every 1,000 hours worked.

At the top of the activity sectors most affected by work accidents with stoppages, the service sector (excluding temporary workers) with 528,048 work accidents in 2019. Within this very broad activity sector, the medical-social and social accommodation and social activity sector is the most affected sector (with 91,889 out of 528,048). Next come the industry (more than 97,000 industrial accidents with stoppages in 2019), construction (82,293), temporary work (53,197) and agriculture (15,306) sectors.

However, occupational accidents are more frequent in the temporary work sector, at 39.3/billion billable hours (compared to 18.5/billion billable hours in the service sector).

Men are generally more affected than women (481,453 accidents among men and 302,164 accidents among women). When all genders are combined, the most affected age group is the 30-39 age group (195,583), however, the frequency is higher in the “15-19 year old” group.

In 2019, 39,650 workplace accidents resulted in recognition of permanent disability.

The sector most affected by serious accidents is again the service sector (23,898 serious accidents), with the most common occurrences occurring within medical-social accommodation and social work activities. The service sector is closely followed by the industrial sector (5860) and then temporary work (5225).

The occurrence of serious accidents occurs mostly in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector (3545), followed by the construction sector (2097).

The “Workers” category is the most affected category with 19,279 out of a total of 39,653 serious accidents across all categories. Then comes the category of workers, of whom 9,240 are serious AT out of a total of 39,653 people. Then intermediate occupations (5100) and managers and business leaders (1805).

The ‘Workers’ category also has the highest incidence of serious accidents (1,812 compared to an average of 955 for all CSPs combined).

Severe AT affects men more than women on average. When all genders are combined, the 50-59 age group is the most affected.

In 2019, there were 790 fatal accidents at workplaces.

The sector most affected by fatal accidents is the service sector (401 out of a total of 790), especially transport and warehousing (104). However, the incidence of fatal accidents is higher in the construction sector (65.8%).

In 2019, more men were affected by fatal AT than women (721 out of 790 in total). The 50-59 age group remains the most affected, as is the case for severe AT. On the other hand, the incidence of fatal AT is higher among populations of all sexes combined in the “60 years and older” bracket.

Finally, the three departments most affected by the frequency of accidents at work are Côtes d’Armor (rate of 29.1), followed by Pyrénées-Orientales (28.8) and Vendée (28.5).

Paris, Hauts de Seine and Guyana are among the least affected departments.

For all questions regarding the AT declaration, Tissot Editions recommends the ACTIV workplace health and safety documents:

DARES Analysis, where workers are most affected by workplace accidents in 2019, October 2022, n° 53