Dive Brief:
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More contractors died on the job in 2013 than during any of the prior three years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week. The death rate for contractors is higher than the national average for workplace fatalities across all professions.
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Most of the 734 contractors died after falling, being stricken by equipment or cars, or from exposure to electricity.
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Likewise, more Hispanic workers died last year than the national average. One reason, according to an expert with the National Employment Law Project, is the high number of Hispanics in dangerous jobs like construction.
Dive Insight:
The BLS defines “contractors” as temporary workers who are employed by one firm but working under the guidance of another, so not all of the deaths involved construction. Still, half of the contractors who died at work in 2013 had jobs in the construction or gas extraction industries. Most of the casualties were laborers, roofers, carpenters, and electricians.