Wellington, Sep 24 (IANS): New Zealand saw a total of 226,600 work-related injury claims reported in 2023, up 1,200 from 2022.

However, the incidence rate for claims related to work-related injuries was 86 claims per 1,000 full-time equivalent employees in 2023, which was the lowest rate since the start of the series in 2002, the statistics department NZ said on Tuesday.

The highest incidence rates of work-related injury claims in 2023 lie in the manufacturing; agriculture, forestry, fishing; and construction industries, it said.

Trade workers had the highest number of claims by occupation in 2023, with 39,000 claims, statistics show.

The total number of fatal work-related injury claims in 2023 was 54, down from 81 in 2022, which was the lowest number of fatal claims in a single year since 2002, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the Stats NZ.

Soft-tissue injuries, which include ligament, tendon, and muscle injuries in all parts of the body, were the most common type of claim in 2023, with 65 per cent of all claims, similar to 2022, it said.