In the year 2000, 16,845 young New Zealanders aged 15 to 29 suffered fatal or serious injuries at work. It was the peak of a different era: fewer safety regulations, less enforcement, and a culture that accepted risk as part of the job.

Then came a slow, grinding decline. By 2010, the number had dropped to 15,219. Progress, but not dramatic. The real shift happened in the decade that followed.

In 2015, serious injuries among young workers fell to 13,998. By 2019, it was down to 12,444. The trajectory was clear: workplaces were getting safer for young people, year after year.

Then COVID hit. And something unexpected happened.

In 2020, serious injuries among 15-29 year olds spiked to 29,172. In 2021, they climbed again to 29,790. It looked like two decades of progress had been wiped out overnight.

But those numbers were outliers, likely driven by pandemic-related workplace changes, disrupted training, and a scramble to fill labour shortages with inexperienced workers. Because what happened next tells a different story.

In 2022, serious injuries among young workers crashed to 12,444. The following year: 11,601. And in 2024, they hit 10,848, the lowest figure in the entire 24-year dataset. (Source: Stats NZ / ACC, fatal-serious-injuries)

That's a 36% drop from the pre-pandemic baseline. It's not just recovery. It's a new low.

What changed? Part of it is structural. Fewer young people are working in the highest-risk industries. Construction, forestry, and manufacturing have aged workforces now. Many young Kiwis have shifted into retail, hospitality, and tech jobs that carry different risks.

But it's also enforcement. WorkSafe has spent years cracking down on unsafe sites. Fines have increased. Prosecutions have become more common. And businesses have realised that a serious injury doesn't just hurt the worker, it can destroy a company's reputation and bottom line.

The result is visible in the numbers. In 2000, one in every 20 young workers could expect to be seriously injured over the course of a year. Today, that risk has been cut by more than a third.

It's still too many. Every one of those 10,848 injuries represents a young person whose life was disrupted, whose body was broken, whose career might have been derailed before it began.

But the trend is undeniable. Workplaces are safer for young New Zealanders than they have been in a generation. And that's a story worth telling.