Why are workplace accidents on the increase in Malaga province?

Workplace accidents are on the rise in Malaga province, alarming new data shows.

There were 16,194 incidents at work sites throughout the province between January and September this year, according to the latest statistics released by Spain's Ministry of Labour this week. It's 4.1% more than the figure recorded in the first nine months of 2022, where 16,194 workplace accidents were recorded.

In the wider Andalucía region, there were 78,990 incidents between January and September this year, an increase of 2.31% compared to the same period last year. Along with Malaga, the other provinces in the region where the number of workplace accidents have increased year-on-year are Almeria, Cadiz and Seville. Among these four provinces, Cadiz recorded the highest increase in accidents at work, with a rise of more than 6.5% to 10,423 accidents. Seville registered a 6% increase to 20,732 incidents.

Meanwhile, occupational accidents have dropped in the other four Andalusian provinces, especially in Cordoba, which recorded a 5.43% decrease to 7,121 incidents. Nationally, workplace incidents fell by almost one percentage point year-on-year to a total of 468,075.

More incidents are happening when workers travel to and from their jobs, the data revealed. There was a 10% increase in this type of accident in Malaga province compared to last year - more than 3,000 incidents. Andalucía recorded a 6.5% rise in this type of work-related incident, while Spain experienced a 8.75% increase.

Of these 3,001 occupational accidents in Malaga in the first nine months of this year, the majority, 2,939 were minor, 61 were serious and one was fatal. A year ago, the record of fatal accidents was worse, with a total of seven.