Do Construction Workers Have the Most Dangerous Jobs?

The numbers don’t lie: The most dangerous jobs you can work in New York State – or anywhere else in the country, for that matter – are found within the construction industry.

Construction had the most fatal occupational injuries out of all industries in the United States and in New York in 2014, according to the most recent national statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

However, while construction had the highest total number of deaths, the industry did not have the highest fatality rate (number of deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers). Instead, the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry had the highest rate at 25.6.

Why Are Construction Jobs So Dangerous?

Construction workers simply face a wide range of hazards when they arrive at the job site each morning. As the below BLS statistics show, falls from heights such as roofs, ladders and scaffolding clearly present the deadliest risk:

Among the many other risks that New York construction workers face on the job are:

While some of these risks are inherent in construction work, many of them can be minimized or eliminated altogether by employers in the construction industry strictly following state and federal safety regulations.

In fact, New York Labor Laws require employers in the construction industry “to provide reasonable and adequate protection for the lives, health and safety” of their workers and all of those in the area of construction activity.

Any construction site owner or contractor who fails to live up to this duty may be held liable for any harm that results from this neglect, regardless of what a contract states or what local customs and practices may be.