The relationship between the rate on unemployment and occupational injuries: A case of Russia

Abstract

This study aims to reveal how growth or decline in the rate of unemployment determines occupational injuries in Russia. Based on the regional statistics from 2009 to 2021 with the help of linear panel models we estimate the relationship between the rate of unemployment and fatal or non-fatal occupational injuries rates. The results show that when the economy is decreasing employees or employers prefer to underreport workplace accidents. This effect is especially strong in conditions of rising unemployment due to the release of workers, layoffs or liquidation of enterprises. At the same time, the fluctuations of unemployment do not change the fatal accidents; that is, injuries per se do not have a cyclical behavior. Thus, though there is a decreasing trend in the rate of occupational injuries in Russia, there is a problem of underreporting of accidents as we observe in high-income economies.