Death on the Job
Falls Still Account for the Majority of Construction Job Fatalities
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics released its report on job injuries and fatalities late again. This year, their report on 2023 Job Fatalities was released on December 19, 2024, and you’re reading this in January 2025, so the figures presented here are a year out of date.
In this age of instant access and information overload, it’s refreshing to see our federal bureaucracies are still operating slower than a herd of snails traveling through peanut butter. No threats of overworking or job stress here. None-the-less, these figures are as up-to-date as it’s going to get for the present.
A death on the job is not a pleasant subject, and I know of several contractors who have gone through this terrible experience. Even one death is a tragedy, and I’m not making light of the situation, but merely presenting the numbers as compiled by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
There’s actually relatively good news this time around as the total number of deaths on the job decreased in 2023 over the previous year. There was a total of 5,283 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2023, which is a 3.7% decrease from the 5,486 figure in 2022. Additionally, even though there were more full-time people employed, the rate of deaths per 100,000 workers decreased from 3.7% to 3.5% for the same period.
By far, the most dangerous industry is, was, and will probably continue to be, highway transportation. Workers in transportation and material moving occupations represented the occupational group with the most fatalities, 1,495 in 2023. However, fatalities for this group declined 7.7% from 2022, driven by an 11.9% decrease in fatal injuries to heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. The rate for the occupational group also decreased from 14.6 per 100,000 full-time employees in 2022 to 13.6 in 2023. Transportation incidents accounted for 667 deaths, or 71.7% of fatalities within the transportation and warehousing sector. Within this sector, 314 fatalities occurred on an interstate, freeway, or expressway and 117 occurred on local roads or streets. Highway deaths have topped the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics list for as long as they’ve been keeping track using their current system, and this isn’t likely to change.
The construction industry had the second most fatalities with 1,075. This was among all industry sectors in 2023, and was the highest for the sector going back to 2011. Falls, slips, and trips accounted for 421 deaths, or 39.2% of all construction fatalities, with transportation to or from construction sites accounting for another 240 fatalities, or 22.3%.
Most of the fatal construction falls were from a higher level to a lower level. Of these falls, 260 or 64.4%, were from a height of between six and 30 feet, while 67 fatal falls were from a height of more than 30 feet. Portable ladders and stairs were the primary source of 109 of these fatalities. Fatal falls consistently account for the vast majority of construction job-related deaths year after year.
Almost every state reported fewer job-related deaths in 2023. Texas holds the dubious honor of the most job fatalities with 564, down from 578 in 2022. California came in a distant second at 439, down from 504 in 2022. Rhode Island had the least job-related deaths in 2023 with six, down from seven in 2022. Obviously, the total state workforce population is reflected in these figures.
If you want more information or just can’t get enough of these labor statistics, go to http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf.
Marc Dodson
Editor
