Construction worker deaths increased for first time since 2006: report

Silver Spring, MD – The number of construction deaths has increased for the first time since 2006, according to a report of 2012 data from the Center for Construction Research and Training (also known as CPWR).

Accounting for 18.3 percent of all U.S. work-related fatalities in 2012, 849 construction workers died on the job, an 8.7 percent increase over the previous year. The report, released June 2, states that falls were the leading cause of construction worker deaths, accounting for 34.6 percent in 2012. Fall-related construction deaths increased to 294 in 2012 from 269 the year before.

Fall-related construction deaths increased to 294 in 2012 from 269 the year before. The largest increases in construction deaths from 2011 to 2012 were among workers 45 and older (15.2 percent), self-employed workers (27.8 percent), workers in residential construction (37.2 percent) and residential roofing contractors (47.6 percent). In contrast, the number of deaths among workers younger than 45 increased 1.9 percent.