A new Travelers report is highlighting a concerning workplace injury trend— while the number of workplace injuries overall is declining, costs associated with the injuries are climbing.
Travelers’ 2025 Injury Impact Report analyzed more than 2.6 million claims comparing workers’ compensation data from the five years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic with the five years since.
“Over the past decade, we’ve seen three trends intensify: increasing retirement ages, ongoing employee turnover, and longer injury recovery times,” said Travelers senior vice president of business insurance claims Rich Ives.
“Our aim with this report is to provide employers with insights on these dynamics that are contributing to growing claim severity so they can better navigate these workforce challenges, protect their employees and keep their businesses running.”
Recovery, Costs
Researchers found the average number of lost workdays increased by more than seven days since the onset of the pandemic—when compared with the prior five years—to an average of 80 lost workdays.
Overall, the construction industry experienced the highest average number of days out of work (115) over the past five years, an increase of 14 days over the previous five years.
The industry’s compensation claims were also the most expensive, almost double the average for all other industries combined.
Researchers said the most expensive of those construction-related injuries were cardiovascular injuries, multiple traumas, electric shocks, dislocations, head traumas, crushing injuries, and amputations.
Within the transportation industry, injured workers averaged 92 days out of work from 2019 through 2024, an increase of 12 days out of work from the previous five years, followed by 78 days out of work in the service industry (+8), 76 days in the wholesale industry (+6), and 74 days in the manufacturing industry (+7).
Dislocations across all industries led to the most days away from work, averaging 140 days followed by fractures (97), inflammation (94), strains and sprains (64), and contusions (40).
Slips, tricks, and falls, overexertion, being stuck by an object, motor vehicle accidents, and caught-in or caught-in between were the claims with the greatest impact on injured employees, costing $250,000 or more.
Aging Workforce
The aging workforce is continuing to dominate workplace conversations across the country, with injuries being a part of that conversation.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 24% of employees will be aged 55 or older by 2033, up from 15% in 2003.
Travelers researchers say the volume of claims involving older employees has risen in line with this shift.
During the past five years, employees aged 50 or older made up 41% of the injured employee population, and those 60 and above represented 16%.
This is up from 39% and 13%, respectively, when compared with data from 2015 through 2019.
While older employees are typically injured less frequently than younger employees, they tend to require longer recovery times and more costly claims.
In the last five years, injured employees aged over 60 were out of work due to workplace injuries for nearly 97 days, almost 17 more days than the average.
New Employees
Still, there has been significant turnover across all injuries, which correlates with injuries and days on the job.
Researchers found employees in their first year on the job accounted for approximately 36% of injuries and 34% of overall claim costs during the last five years.
Employees in their first year on the job accounted for approximately 36% of injuries and 34% of overall claim costs.
This is an increase from the prior five years, when 34% of injuries and 32% of overall claim costs were attributed to new employees.
The restaurant industry was most affected by first-year injuries over the past five years, with those employee injuries making up 51% of claims, followed by construction (44%), retail (40%), services (37%), wholesale (37%), transportation (35%), and manufacturing (30%).
Employee Strategies
Travelers released a number of recommendations for employers to help manage employee safety.
The company suggests employers focus on onboarding and training employees to establish safe work practices, creating a culture of safety by supporting and engaging employees, and managing workplace accidents and injuries.
“Taking these steps can help employees feel valued and supported, which is key to maintaining a motivated, safe and healthy workforce.”
Travelers’ Chris Hayes
Travelers offers a Corridor of Care post-injury management process through its safety programs.
“By examining claim data, which includes information such as injury frequency, severity and causes, we can provide guidance to employers across multiple industries to anticipate future risks and implement preventive strategies,” Travelers assistant vice president of workers’ compensation and transportation risk control Chris Hayes said.
“Taking these steps can help employees feel valued and supported, which is key to maintaining a motivated, safe and healthy workforce.”
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.