Construction workplace deaths in 2023 rose to highest levels since 2011

2023 was the worst year for construction workplace fatalities since 2011, according to newly released Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The construction industry had 1,075 fatalities in 2023. The BLS measured a fatal work injury rate of 9.6 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, the same rate as in 2022.

Falls, slips, and trips—among the industry’s deadliest hazards every year—accounted for 421, or 39.2%, of all construction fatalities. Construction had the highest number of deaths of any private industry.

The construction industry’s fatality rate ranked third, behind agriculture, fishing, forestry and hunting, and transportation and warehousing. Most fatal falls in construction, 260 or 64.4%, were from a height between 6 feet and 30 feet. Portable ladders and stairs were the primary source of 109 construction fatalities, the BLS said.