The rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in the state fell significantly last year, according to figures released Tuesday.

The Research and Planning Section, Wyoming Department of Employment said the rate was 4.8 per 100 full-time employees among private industry employers, down from 5.8 percent in 2005.

"It appears that companies are probably providing safer environments and utilizing more safety features," said senior economist Valerie Davis.

J.D. Danni, OSHA program manager for the state, said he hopes the decline is a result of efforts by employers, employees and his own agency's safety awareness program.

He said employers have financial incentives to encourage safe workplace practices. For example, a business can qualify for reduced Workers Compensation premiums if it has a drug-testing program.

Davis said rates in the state's goods-producing sectors -- which include agriculture, mining, construction and manufacturing -- declined by 2.6 incidents per hundred workers. Total average annual employment for the sectors in 2006 was 59,900.

Among service-providing industries, the rate fell by 0.2, with average employment of 142,700.

Six of the 14 service-providing sectors recorded increases, although most were small. The largest was in transportation and warehousing, which jumped from a rate of 4.5 per hundred workers in 2005 to 8.0 in 2006.

The highest injury and illness rate was found in wood-product manufacturing at 15.5 per hundred workers, but the total number of employees was relatively small at 900.

Private sector hospitals ranked second at 11.2, followed by food manufacturing at 11.1, and nursing and residential care facilities at 10.5.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@casperstartribune.net, or call 307-266-0574.