The death rates from drug overdose and suicide among the construction workforce have dropped according to recent data released by North America’s Building Trades Unions and CPWR — The Center for Construction Research and Training.
Drug-related overdose deaths declined 28.8% from 2023 to 2024 among U.S. construction workers aged 16-64, according to the report. That represented about 4,600 lives.
The overdose death rate fell from 135.0 to 94.8 per 100,000 workers, CPWR said. For context, the on-the-job fatality rate for construction in 2023 was 9.6 deaths per 100,000 workers.
That meant over 10 times as many workers died from overdose versus injury on the jobsite in 2023. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the 2024 workplace fatality data Feb. 19.
CPWR and NABTU attribute the decrease in overdose deaths to a few key factors, including:
• Education on opioid risk.
• Fewer opioid prescriptions between 2019 and 2023.
• Widespread availability of naloxone on jobsites and in public.
• Decreased stigma around substance use and mental health.
• Improved treatment and recovery support in the industry.
The decline in construction worker deaths by suicide was more modest, dropping 1.7% from 2023 to 2024. The fatality rate from suicide decreased from 43.2 to 41.9 per 100,000 workers, still over four times the rate of on-the-job deaths in the industry.