Home > Statistics > Occupational accident statistics > 2013 > Farmers’ risk of fatal accidents at work has fallen by over one-fifth in ten years

Published: 18 June 2015

Farmers’ risk of fatal accidents at work has fallen by over one-fifth in ten years

Corrected on 18 June 2015. The corrections are indicated in red.

The risk of fatal accidents at work among own-account workers in agriculture has fallen by 22 per cent from 2004 to 2013. These data derive from Statistics Finland's occupational accidents statistics, in which two five-year periods were compared with each other. In the 2004 to 2008 period, own-account workers in agriculture had 37 fatal accidents at work, which is an average of 8.3 fatal accidents per 100,000 own-account workers in agriculture. In the 2009 to 2013 period, a total of 25 own-account workers in agriculture died in occupational accidents, which amounted to an annual average of 6.5 fatal accidents per 100,000 own-account workers in agriculture. The most recent occupational accident statistics contain data on the accidents at work of wage and salary earners and farmers in 2013. The statistics also contain data on the accidents at work that occurred to other self-employed persons, and on wage and salary earners’ commuting accidents.

Accidents at work and fatal accidents at work of wage and salary earners and own-account workers in agriculture in 2013

	Accidents at work	Accidents at work		Fatal accidents at work
		Resulting in disability of at least 4 days	Accidents at work resulting in disability of at least four days / 100,000 persons
Wage and salary earners	101 539	40 463	1 887	16
Own-accounts workers	4 317	3 518	4 994	4

In 2013, wage and salary earners had a total of 101,539 accidents at work for which insurance companies paid compensation. Disability of at least four days resulted from 40,463 of these accidents. The total number of wage and salary earners' accidents at work decreased slightly from the previous year. The economic downturn in Finland in 2009 and changes in the number of hours worked largely explain the variation in the number of accidents at work during the 2008 to 2013 period. However, the number of hours worked among wage and salary earners is still five per cent lower than in 2008.

Compared with the year before, the number of occupational accidents among wage and salary earners resulting in a disability of at least four days fell clearly (-7.1%). When measured with the accident incidence rate, the risk of occupational accidents decreased compared with 2011 (-6.3%). In 2013, a total of 1,887 accidents at work resulting in at least four days' absence from work occurred per 100,000 wage and salary earners. The corresponding ratio was 2,013 one year earlier.

As in earlier years, the work of own-account workers in agriculture, i.e. farmers, clearly continues to be more risk prone than the average work of wage and salary earners, as the accident incidence rate calculated for them is more than 2.5-fold when compared with wage and salary earners. In 2013, the Farmers' Social Insurance Institution paid out compensation to own-account workers in agriculture for a total of 4,317 occupational accidents, of which 3,518 led to at least four days' absence from work.

Measured with the accident incidence rate, the susceptibility of farmers to occupational accidents remained on level with the previous year (+0.8%). In 2013, farmers had 4,994 occupational accidents resulting in a disability of at least four days per 100,000 insured farmers. The corresponding ratio in 2012 was 4,953.

In 2013, a total of 35 persons died at the place of work or while commuting. Of these fatal accidents at work, 16 occurred to wage and salary earners, four to farmers and two to other self-employed persons. In addition, 13 fatal accidents occurred while commuting, all of them to wage and salary earners. The number of fatal accidents at work fell considerably from the year before, as 61 persons suffered fatal accidents at work or while commuting in 2012.

Source: Occupational accident statistics 2013, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Arto Miettinen 029 551 2963, tyotapaturmat@stat.fi

Director in charge: Riitta Harala

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Updated 18.6.2015