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Workplace fatalities in construction increase for the first time since 2006

August 27, 2013

Fatal work injuries in the private construction industry increased 5 percent from 2011 to 2012. The 775 fatal work injuries in construction in 2012 were the highest number of fatal work injuries among all major industries. The increase in 2012 follows five consecutive years of declining fatal injury counts.  Fatal injuries in construction are down 37 percent since 2006.
Number of fatal occupational injuries, private industry, 2003–2012
Industry 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Private industry, total

 5,043 5,229 5,214 5,320 5,112 4,670 4,090 4,206 4,188 3,945

Goods producing

 2,401 2,518 2,459 2,542 2,372 2,234 1,827 1,896 1,786 1,741

  Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting

 709 669 715 655 585 672 575 621 566 475

  Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

 141 152 159 192 183 176 99 172 155 177

  Construction

 1,131 1,234 1,192 1,239 1,204 975 834 774 738 775

  Manufacturing

 420 463 393 456 400 411 319 329 327 314

Service-providing

 2,642 2,711 2,755 2,778 2,740 2,436 2,263 2,310 2,402 2,204

  Trade, transportation, and utilities

 1,375 1,473 1,524 1,494 1,479 1,314 1,146 1,189 1,246 1,152

  Information

 64 55 65 66 79 47 33 43 56 38

  Financial activities

 129 116 99 126 119 106 108 113 98 81

  Professional and business services

 453 452 482 459 476 403 422 364 433 388

  Education and health services

 143 157 150 178 149 141 150 171 154 139

  Leisure and hospitality

 275 247 213 265 260 238 231 238 231 220

  Other services, except public administration

 194 207 210 183 175 178 173 192 183 183

In private industry in 2012, there were 3,945 fatal work injuries—a decrease of 6 percent from 2011 and a new series low.  Both goods-producing and service-providing industries showed declines.

From 2011 to 2012, among goods-producing industries, fatal work injuries in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction increased 14 percent to 177—the highest level since 2007.  The number of fatal work injury cases in oil and gas extraction industries rose to a series high of 138 in 2012 from 112 in 2011.

Among service-providing industries in 2012, trade, transportation, and utilities experienced 1,152 fatal work injuries—a decrease from 1,246 in 2011.  Within trade, transportation, and utilities, the transportation and warehousing sector accounted for 677 fatal work injuries in 2012, a decrease of 10 percent over the revised 2011 count (749 fatalities). The number of fatal injuries in truck transportation, the largest subsector within transportation and warehousing in terms of employment, decreased 6 percent in 2012.

These data are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), which is part of the BLS Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. Data for 2012 are preliminary. Data for 2011 are final. To learn more, see "National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2012 (Preliminary Results)" (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL-13-1699.


 

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Workplace fatalities in construction increase for the first time since 2006 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130827.htm (visited February 28, 2026).