Dive Brief:
- More construction workers died on the job last year than in any other industry sector. In 2022, 1,069 construction professionals died while working, a rate of 9.6 fatalities per 100,000 full-time workers, according to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Monday.
- Construction’s fatality rate was third highest, behind agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (18.6 per 100,000) and transportation and warehousing (14.1 per 100,000).
- Eighty-three more people died at work in construction in 2022 than in 2021, and the fatality rate for the industry inched up from 9.4 to 9.6. The fatality rate in construction has hovered at around 10 deaths per 100,000 for over a decade.
Dive Insight:
Another trend also continued in construction: The “Fatal Four” — falls, struck-bys, caught-in/betweens and electrocutions — killed the majority of workers.
Most common fatal events or exposures in construction in 2022
| Cause | Number of construction worker deaths |
|---|---|
| Falls, slips, trips | 410 |
| Transportation incidents | 243 |
| Exposure to harmful substances or environments | 194 |
| Contact with object or equipment | 149 |
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Other nationwide takeaways from the BLS report include:
- A U.S. worker died every 96 minutes in 2022, compared to 101 minutes in 2021.
- Unintentional overdoses at all workplaces continued a decade-long trend of annual increases, rising from 464 to 525 fatalities in 2022.
- Transportation incidents accounted for 37.7% of all occupational fatalities, the most of any event or cause.
- The fatal injury rate for Black or African American workers and for Hispanic or Latino workers increased in 2022 to 4.2 and 4. 6 deaths per 100,000 workers — both higher than the all-worker rate of 3.7.
Construction had more deaths than any other industry sector in 2022
In specific job categories, construction also counted several of the most dangerous professions. Roofers ranked as the second most dangerous profession, with 57.5 deaths per 100,000 workers, behind only loggers. Helpers in the construction trades marked a rate of 38.5 and structural steel and iron workers a rate of 21.3, ranking fourth and eighth, respectively.
BLS takes nearly a year to report fatality numbers; the agency released 2022 data on Dec. 19. The organization publishes data by both occupation and industry, often resulting in two distinct statistics of similar size. Construction Dive focuses on industry data; a representation of all workers in construction. By occupation, BLS reports construction and extraction occupations together.
When broken down by occupation, construction and extraction workers counted 1,056 fatalities, the second highest after 1,620 deaths in transportation and material moving occupations.
Reactions and calls to action
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health called attention to the news, saying worker deaths in all industries are avoidable and “workers should never, ever have to risk their lives to earn a paycheck,” in a release shared with Construction Dive.
“We live in a world with many intractable problems,” said Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of National COSH. “Reducing workplace deaths and injuries is not one of them. A worker-centered approach, based on sound science, can reduce and eliminate the hazards we face on the job, and result in fewer empty seats during next year’s holiday celebrations.”
Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives for Associated General Contractors of America, called the statistics “a sobering reminder that there is a tremendous amount of work yet to be done to ensure that every worker in the industry goes home safe and healthy, every day.”
Turmail said the AGC continues to share safety training programs with members, to assemble for stand downs and sharing best practices and to reward those with the most effective safety programs. At the same time, he said AGC is eager to collaborate with more agencies on “proactive, preventative measures” to improve safety.
“Despite these many efforts, the specter of death still haunts our industry with a terrible tenaciousness,” Turmail said in a statement shared with Construction Dive. “We will not waiver until every worker is safe.”
