Benefits paid to injured workers continued to decline, while covered employment and wages continued to rise, according to data in the new Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Costs, and Coverage (2017 Data) report. Produced annually by the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Employee coverage has increased fairly steadily over the past two decades, but employer costs have fallen from just over $1.50 per $100 of covered wages in 1997 to $1.25 in 2017. Worker benefits decreased even more, from $1.17 twenty years ago to $0.80 per $100 of covered wages in 2017. “This year’s report shows that the trends that have dominated the workers’ compensation system for the past three decades – declines in both workers’ benefits and employers’ costs – continue to be sustained,” noted Les Boden, Chair of the Academy Study Panel on Workers’ Compensation Data and co-author of the report.

“To the extent that costs and benefits have fallen because of improved safety at work, that is, of course, good news. However, there is also evidence that suggests that many injured workers are not receiving the cash benefits and/or medical care they need, and that some states are achieving lower benefits by shifting costs rather than improving safety.

In addition to the full report, including sources and methods, an Executive Summary and four state-specific spotlights on Wyoming, Florida, Ohio, and Missouri are available for download. Additional highlights include:

— Covered jobs increased in all jurisdictions except Alaska, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Covered wages increased in all jurisdictions except Wyoming.
— Benefits per $100 of covered wages decreased in all jurisdictions except Missouri and Hawaii, where they increased by $0.09 and $0.04, respectively.
— Costs per $100 of covered wages, or standardized costs, decreased in all but five jurisdictions, with the largest percent decrease (38.3 percent) in Oklahoma.