The number of paid workers’ compensation claims in the state of Minnesota fell by more than 50 percent between 1996 and 2016.

The 2016 Minnesota Workers’ Compensation System Report was released by the state’s Department of Labor and Industry and is released annually. This year’s looks at workers’ comp system data from 1996 to 2016.

The number of paid claims fell from 8.8 per 100 full-time employees in 1996 to 4.0 per 100 full-time employees in 2016, a 54 percent decrease. The cost of the system in 2016 amounts to $1.24 per $100 of payroll, comparable points in the cycle for Minnesota indicate a long-term downward trend though authors noted this cost follows a multi-year pricing cycle.

Medical and indemnity benefits per insured claim rose rapidly between 1996 and 2003 but stabilized after 2003. Costs are down relative to payroll due to falling claim rates though since 1996 there have been higher benefits per claim. Indemnity benefits per $100 of payroll were 40 percent lower in 2016 than in 1996, and medical benefits were 30 percent lower in 2016 than in 1996.

In 2016 medical benefits accounted for 35 percent of total system cost. Insurer expenses accounted for 31 percent, and indemnity benefits other than vocational rehabilitation accounted for 29 percent.

The percentage of indemnity benefits claims receiving vocational rehabilitation services rose from 15 percent in 1997 to 25 percent in 2016. The percentage of indemnity claims with a dispute of any type rose from 16 percent in 1996, to 21 percent in 2008. It has stabilized since 2008.

Read the release from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry and check out the full report here.