OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH DISPARITIES

Input: Economic Factors

Workers in low-wage jobs may be differentially impacted by working conditions, the nature of employment, medical care available to them, and disability or workers’ compensation. According to the U.S. Census, the increase in the number of uninsured in 2004 was focused among working-age adults. The percentage of working adults (18 to 64) who had no health coverage climbed from 18.6% in 2003 to 19.0% in 2004, an increase of more than 750,000 workers without healthcare. As shown in the table below, blue collar workers had both a higher proportion of injuries in 2001 and lower mean hourly earnings.

Source: NIOSH Worker Health Chartbook, 2004, Fig. 1-31