The latest HSE statistics provide valuable insight into how different industries across Great Britain experience work-related ill health and workplace injury. From the outset, these findings clearly highlight the Industries at Highest Risk, helping employers, managers, and safety professionals understand where harm is most likely to occur. Crucially, these industry-level comparisons also show where preventative action can deliver the greatest improvement in worker health, safety, and wellbeing.
Firstly, the HSE identifies several sectors with statistically significantly higher rates of work-related ill health compared with the all-industry average. In particular, the data highlights the following industries:
- Public administration and defence
- Human health and social work
- Education
These sectors share several common characteristics. For example, workers often manage high workloads, face sustained emotional pressure, and carry significant responsibility for others. As a result, the elevated levels of work-related ill health strongly reflect the mental and physical strain placed on people working in these roles. Consequently, organisations operating in these areas must prioritise mental health support, workload management, and early intervention.
However, when we shift focus to workplace non-fatal injuries, a different pattern emerges. Rather than emotionally demanding roles, the Industries at Highest Risk for injury tend to involve physical tasks and hazardous environments. According to the HSE, sectors with statistically significantly higher injury rates include:
- Accommodation and food service activities
- Construction
- Transportation and storage
- Wholesale and retail trade, including motor vehicle repair
These industries typically involve manual handling, high footfall, time pressure, and frequent interaction with machinery or vehicles. Therefore, workers face an increased risk of slips, trips, lifting injuries, and handling-related incidents. As a result, robust training, clear procedures, and strong supervision play a critical role in reducing harm.
Historically, agriculture, forestry, and fishing have also recorded higher-than-average injury rates. However, the HSE notes that no estimate is available for the most recent period, likely due to sample size limitations. Even so, previous trends suggest that these sectors still require close attention.
In addition, the report includes a detailed chart showing rates of work-related ill health and non-fatal injury per 100,000 workers across each industry. While some sectors show no statistically significant difference from the all-industry average, others consistently stand out. For instance, public administration, human health, and education remain prominent for ill health, while construction, hospitality, transport, and retail dominate injury statistics.
Conversely, certain financial, technical, and real estate sectors record lower rates. In these environments, physical hazards and extreme emotional stress tend to occur less frequently.
Ultimately, these findings reinforce why understanding sector-specific risks matters. By recognising where risks concentrate, employers can target resources more effectively, whether that means improving mental health support in public services, strengthening manual-handling controls in retail and hospitality, or enhancing safety culture across construction and logistics.