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The slow economic recovery after the pandemic is accompanied by an increase in the number of employees and in the absolute number of occupational injuries. However, the latter remains below the pre-crisis level.
In 2021, the number of recognized accidents at work was 103,957, compared with 121,260 in 2019 and 93,003 in 2020 (a record drop). The loss ratio (number of accidents per 1,000 employees) was 19.3; it was 18.88 in 2020 and 23.96 in 2019. This indicator, which has been significant until now, is less so due to the pandemic, the associated short-time working and the increase in remote working. AUVA also recorded 123 accidents at work in the strict sense and 36 fatal commuting accidents in 2021, of which 47 in the agricultural and forestry sector alone.
The number of recognized commuting accidents also decreased in 2021 compared to 2019, respectively 12,776 and 14,222. It should be noted that more than 15% of all commuting accidents in 2021 occurred in February. This can be explained by poor road conditions or an increase in traffic volume after the end of the “hard” lockdown. The pandemic also influenced the number of accidents involving schoolchildren and students. Compared to 2019, there were about a third fewer training accidents in 2021, about half were commuting accidents and not even a quarter were sports accidents. The number of accidents at work among apprentices has also decreased compared to the pre-crisis level: in 2021, there were 7,311 recognized accidents (2019: 8,451, 2020: 6,516). Most of these accidents occurred in construction, manufacturing and trade sectors.
