{"id":34394,"date":"2026-02-22T13:20:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T21:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/constructions-deaths-fatality-rate-declined-in-2024\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T13:20:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T21:20:18","slug":"constructions-deaths-fatality-rate-declined-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/constructions-deaths-fatality-rate-declined-in-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction\u2019s deaths, fatality rate declined in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"-\"><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">4 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/text-to-speech.divecdn.com\/newspost\/812666\/2026-02-20_09.23.00\/constructions-deaths-fatality-rate-2024-hazards.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Construction accounted for about one in five U.S. workplace deaths in 2024, according to the most recent available data.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In 2024, 1,034 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/iif\/fatal-injuries-tables\/fatal-occupational-injuries-table-a-1-2024.htm#:~:text=11-,Construction,-1%2C034\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>construction workers died on the job<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries released Thursday. Forty-one <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/construction-deaths-2024-safety-bls\/736002\/#:~:text=Construction%20had%201%2C075%20fatalities%20in%202023\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>fewer workers in the industry died<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> in 2024 than the year before.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>But construction counted the second highest raw number of deaths among any individual private industry. The trade, transportation and utilities sector \u2014 a broad area that includes retail workers and transportation and warehouse employees \u2014 measured 1,298 fatalities in 2024.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In addition, the BLS also measures each sector\u2019s <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/charts\/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries\/number-and-rate-of-fatal-work-injuries-by-industry.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>fatal work injury rate<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, which provides detail into the perils of industries based on the size of their workforce.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Construction\u2019s rate in 2024 measured 9.2 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, a dip of 0.4 from the rate a year prior. The 2024 rate was <span><span>fourth highest among highlighted industries<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>That rate of on-site deaths decreased to the lowest since 2011, but the industry has still seen the number hover between nine and <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/osha-enforcement-violations-death-on-the-jobsite-construction\/634308\/#:~:text=The%20rate%20of%20fatal%20injuries%20in%20construction%20is%20virtually%20unchanged\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>10 for over a decade<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"editorial-table\">\n<h6><span><span><span><span><span>Number<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span><span><span><span><span> of fatalities and fatality rate by occupation<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h6>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Industry<\/th>\n<th>Fatalities<\/th>\n<th>Deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Construction<\/th>\n<td>1,034<\/td>\n<td>9.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th><span><span><span><span><span>Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/th>\n<td>475<\/td>\n<td>20.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction<\/th>\n<td>92<\/td>\n<td>13.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Transportation and warehousing<\/th>\n<td>865<\/td>\n<td>12.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Construction\u2019s lower number of deaths and its reduced fatality rate tracked broader trends in the overall workforce. For all industries in 2024, 5,070 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/cfoi.nr0.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>people died at work<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, per BLS, the lowest since 2020. The overall U.S. fatality rate at work was 3.3 per 100,000 FTE workers in 2024, down from 3.5 in 2023.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Digging into the numbers<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Falls, slips and trips accounted for 389 jobsite fatalities in 2024, or about 38% of all construction workplace deaths. The hazard remained the deadliest in the industry from years prior.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In construction, transportation incidents \u2014 work-related injuries or fatalities that occur when an employee is impacted while operating or working around a vehicle \u2014 counted 244 in 2024, or about 24% of the total jobsite deaths.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"editorial-table\">\n<h6>Fatal events or exposures in construction in 2024<\/h6>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Cause<\/th>\n<th>Number of construction worker deaths<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Falls, slips and trips<\/th>\n<td>389<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Transportation<\/th>\n<td>244<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Exposure to harmful substances, environments<\/th>\n<td>187<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Contact incidents<\/th>\n<td>161<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Violent acts<\/th>\n<td>46<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Explosions and fires<\/th>\n<td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>BLS usually releases the fatality data, which lags by about a year, in December. This year, the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/how-government-shutdown-impacts-construction-contracts\/803961\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>government shutdown<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> delayed the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/bls\/2025-lapse-revised-release-dates.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>release of the CFOI report<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> by two months from Dec. 18 until Thursday.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The agency releases data by industry, but also by occupation, which sorts individuals by work performed rather than by the business that employs them. In 2024, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/cfoi.t03.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>construction and extraction occupations<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> recorded 1,032 fatal jobsite injuries, down by 23 from 2023.\u00a0 Of those fatalities, 788 were construction tradesworkers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Industry response<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Chris Trahan Cain, executive director of CPWR, said the decline in 2024 deaths occurred due to slightly fewer incidents with persistent jobsite hazards and a small decline in workplace suicides and overdoses.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cAlthough our industry needs to work harder to eliminate all construction worker deaths on the job, we are encouraged that the overall 2024 fatality numbers and rates decreased,\u201d Cain told Construction Dive in an email. \u201cPeople across the industry must continue to strive to make sure every worker goes home safely every day and to improve working conditions that contribute to disease, damage wellbeing, and cause early deaths for construction workers.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America, said he found the declines in fatalities and the rate heartening given that the industry has seen an increase in workers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThese are particularly encouraging trends in light of the increase in employment and the retirement of large numbers of experienced workers,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Joe Xavier, senior director of safety for Associated Builders and Contractors, also welcomed the decline, but called for action.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>He pointed to <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.org\/ABCSTEP\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>ABC\u2019s STEP Health and Safety Management System<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> as a resource for contractors to lean on, to better measure worker wellbeing with a whole-person approach.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cWe must see better gains for the health and safety of construction workers, bottom line,\u201d Xavier said. \u201cWe must do better and now is the time for contractors to proactively assess their own safety culture.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/constructions-deaths-fatality-rate-2024-hazards\/812666\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. 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