Did You Know?

Wellington is the safest place to work with Auckland a close second

Provisional figures released show almost one in 10 workers made a claim for a work-related injury last year, with 97 out of every 1000 workers reporting an injury.

The number of claims was the lowest on record, with a total of 187,900 injury claims last year. This is the first year with fewer than 200,000 claims since figures were first collated in 2002.

The Auckland region topped the number of claims, with 54,600 reported injuries, but had the second-lowest injury rate overall.

Wellington surpassed Auckland as the safest place to work, while the highest claim rates were in Gisborne and Hawkes Bay, followed by Northland and the Bay of Plenty.

Males accounted for almost three-quarters of claims at 71 per cent, while younger and older workers had the highest claim rate across all age groups, with one in eight being aged 15-24 and 65 and older making a claim last year.

Pasifika people had the highest injury rate by ethnicity, with 115 claims per 1000 workers.

Agriculture and fishery workers were the most likely to make a claim, with more than two out of every 10 workers reporting a workplace injury. Office workers had the lowest claim rate.

Tradespeople made the most claims overall, followed by agriculture and fishery workers, and plant and machine operators and assemblers.

Only 10 per cent of all claims resulted in entitlement payments, including for weekly compensation and rehabilitation.