More Injuries Among Retail Workers in Texas Compared to Other Industries

The Texas Department of Insurance reported that according to federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data there are more workers in shopping malls and retail outlets that get sick and injured than in any other private industry sector in Texas.

About 33,200 retail workers in Texas suffered a job-related illness or injury in 2018, as compared to 12,300 in construction, 17,700 in transportation, and 20,400 in manufacturing, according to the BLS.

About 25% of these injuries required Texas retail workers to lose a day of work, while about 5% of the injuries required employees to lose 31 days or more of work. The median time off for injured retail workers in Texas was five days.

Chris D’Amura, director of workplace safety at the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) said retail workers often experienced sprains, tears and overexertion.

Falls from ladders, slips on floors, and trips over boxes and equipment are among the most common causes of injuries in the retail industry, the BLS reports. Overexertion due to lifting, lowering, and repetitive motion is also a high cause of injury in retail.

Nationally, retail was the only U.S. industry with an uptick in employee injuries from the previous year. About 3.5 of every 100 retail workers in the country suffered a job-related injury or illness in 2018, up from 3.3 in 2017.