States where employer costs for workers' comp have decreased the most
When workers are injured on the job, workers' compensation programs help pay for medical care, lost wages, and even death benefits. These programs may also cover long-term medical conditions resulting from work-related exposure to harmful substances such as asbestos and pesticides. Most states—but not all—require employers to provide workers' compensation benefits to employees.
Costs for workers' compensation insurance are declining nationwide. From 2016 to 2020, the total amount spent by employers on workers' compensation insurance fell from $100.2 billion to $93 billion per year. To better understand how worker's compensation insurance costs have changed, Simply Business used a 2022 data release from the nonprofit National Academy of Social Insurance to rank the states where employer costs for workers' compensation insurance decreased the most from 2016 to 2020. Employer costs are reported per $100 of covered wages.
Nationally, the vast majority of workers' compensation premiums are paid by employers. The amount they contributed declined by 20.7% overall, but figures varied widely from state to state between 2016 through 2020, according to the study. Employer costs did not rise in any states between that period—Hawaii is the only state where costs remained the same. Nevada's standardized employer costs decreased the least during that period, by 5.8%, while North Dakota's decreased the most, at 31.3%.
Reasons for the state-by-state decreases vary, including whether people who contracted COVID-19 on the job were eligible for benefits and changes to laws around medical and insurance policies.
One factor driving costs down in 2020 was due to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on low-wage workers, who traditionally have higher workers' compensation costs, according to the National Academy of Social Insurance. These lower wage workers disproportionately lost their jobs during early 2020, reducing the potential for payouts from insurance policies. As those jobs return, they may push premiums higher.
