An indicator of construction jobsite safety showed improvement last year, as the number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses—and the rate per 100 workers—declined in 2009, the Labor Dept. has reported.

In its latest annual workplace safety report, released on Oct. 21, the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said that construction injuries and illnesses on the job were down 22% last year, to 251,000.

在工作场所伤害和疾病中，至少一部分倾向可以追溯到建筑活动的下降，从而使工作人员的工人人数下降。

The better safety yardstick, the industry's injury/illness rate, also went down in 2009, to 4.3 cases per 100 workers, from 4.7 in 2008.

BLS更广泛地说，去年所有私营企业的非致命伤害率也下降到每100名工人的3.6例，从2008年的3.9例。工作场所伤害/疾病的总数下降了40万，至330万例。

But the Labor Dept. concedes that its own data may not be complete, because, it says, some companies have not reported all injuries that occurred.

劳工部长琳达·索利斯（Linda Solis）表示，受伤人数的“报道下降”是“令人鼓舞的”，并指出大多数公司了解准确报告伤害的重要性。

But Solis added, "We are concerned about the widespread existence of programs that discourage workers from reporting injuries and we will continue to issue citations and penalties to employers that intentionally under-report workplace injuries."

Construction Nonfatal Injury/Illness Rates
（每100名工人）

2009	4.3
2008	4.7
2007	5.4
2006	5.9
Source: Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics