Alcohol and drug abuse is revealed in the National Survey on Drug Use (NSDUH). National Survey on Drug Use and Health 05-2015
While looking at charts and statistics can sometimes numb the senses, we present below some very concerning statistics about alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace in this article. Why do we think providing this information is important? We want to encourage employers to consider implementing a random drug testing program. Random testing can be the most economic and efficient way to send a very strong message to your associates that you will not tolerate employees or volunteers.
In Brief:
An annual average of 8.7 percent of full-time workers aged 18 to 64 used alcohol heavily in the past month and 9.5 percent were dependent on or abused alcohol or illicit drugs in the past year.
Rates of substance use behaviors and substance use disorder varied across industry groupings. The overall rate of past month heavy alcohol use among full-time workers aged 18 to 64 was 8.7 percent. Rates of past month heavy alcohol use ranged from 17.5 percent among workers in the mining industry to 4.4 percent among workers in the health care and social assistance industry (Figure 1 in the article).
Past month heavy alcohol use among adults aged 18 to 64
- Mining 17.5%
- Construction 16.5%
- Accommodations and food services 11.8%
- Arts, entertainment and recreation 11.5%
- Utilities 10.3%
- Wholesale Trade 10.2%
- Management 9.9%
- Manufacturing 9.7%
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing and hunting 9.4%
- Retail Trade 9.0%
- Transportation and warehousing 8.8%
- Other services (except public administration) 8.5%
- Information 8.1%
- Professional, scientific, and technical services 7.7%
- Finance and insurance 7.4%
- Public administration 6.6%
- Educational services 4.7%
- Health care and social assistance 4.4%
Past month illicit drug use among adults aged 18 to 64 employed full time, by industry category: combined 2008 to 2012
- Accommodations and food services 19.1%
- Arts, entertainment and recreation 13.7%
- Management 12.1%
- Information 11.7%
- Construction 11.6%
- Other services (except public administration) 11.2%
- Real estate, rental, and leasing 10.9%
- Retail Trade 10.3%
- Professional, scientific, and technical services 7.7%
- Wholesale Trade 7.8%
- Manufacturing 7.4%
- Finance and insurance 6.5%
- Utilities 6.1%
- Transportation and warehousing 5.9%
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing and hunting 5.7%
- Health care and social assistance 5.5%
- Mining 5.0%
- Educational services 4.8%
- Public administration 4.3%
