Occupational accidents on the rise: The number of commuting accidents increased by 10%
In 2024, there were 115 000 occupational accidents, of which 91 000 were accidents at workplace and 24 000 were commuting accidents. The number of accidents at workplace increased by 4 % and the number of commuting accidents by as much as 10 % from 2023.
80 % of commuting accidents were caused by falls, and most of them were caused by pedestrians or cyclists.
"Pedestrian weather affects the number of commuting accidents. According to our understanding, the brisk increase in commuting accidents is largely explained by the several periods of melting and slipperiness that occurred between January and April last year in Southern Finland," says Janne Sysi-Aho from the Finnish Workers' Compensation Center.
Last year, the frequency of accidents at workplace was 25,4 per one million hours worked, while the corresponding figure was 24,6 in 2023. The frequency of accidents at workplace increased by 3 per cent from 2023.
Accidents at workplace increased in the local government sector and in the private health and social work sector
The number and frequency of accidents at workplace increased clearly in the local government sector and in the private health and social work sector. In 2024, the data for the local government sector will also include accidents at workplace that occur in the wellbeing services counties.
The number of accidents at workplace decreased in construction, manufacturing, and administrative and support service industries.
Among the largest industries, the frequency of accidents at workplace was highest in construction and second highest in private health and social work activities.
The highest number of accidents at workplace occurred among service and sales workers (27 % of accidents at work) and the second highest among construction, repair and manufacturing workers (19 %).
Workplace accidents are typically caused by slipping or staggering
The majority (23 %) of workplace accidents were caused by an employee slipping, staggering or tripping. The second most common accidents at workplace were caused by hitting or bumping into various objects (16 %).
Violence or a shocking situation was the fifth most common cause of accidents at workplace. The number of accidents at workplace caused by violence also increased clearly from the previous year. Last year, 7 700 of these accidents at work were recorded, while in the previous year nearly 1 500 fewer of these were reported to insurance companies.
"The number of workplace accidents caused by violence has been increasing for ten years in care and educational institutions and daycare centres. This is particularly evident in accidents at workplace in care services, health care and social services," Janne Sysi-Aho continues.
Number of occupational accidents among self-insured entrepreneurs began to rise
Last year, self-employed entrepreneurs who insured themselves voluntarily had 5 900 occupational accidents, of which 5 340 were accidents at workplace and 560 were commuting accidents. The number of self-employed entrepreneurs’ occupational accidents has decreased in several previous years, but in 2024 the number began to increase.
An entrepreneur can take out an entrepreneur's voluntary working time insurance in accordance with the Workers' Compensation Act. Therefore, only some of the occupational accidents that occur to entrepreneurs are included in TVK's statistics.
Terms used in the news
Accident at workplace = accident at work and on the premises of the workplace
Commuting accident = accident between home and work
Frequency / frequency of accidents at workplace = number of accidents at workplace per million hours worked. The frequency proportions to the workload and the number of workplace accidents that have occurred.
Upcoming publications on occupational accident statistics
The Finnish Workers' Compensation Center will publish sector-specific analyses of the occupational accident statistics for 2024 during the spring and early summer of this year.
The forecast for the number of occupational accidents for the current year will be published in September–October 2025.
Read more about last year's occupational accidents in the analysis published in Työtapaturmatieto (in Finnish)