Dive Summary:

• The construction industry's rate of deaths per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers went from 9.8 in 2010 to 8.9 last year, according to preliminary federal data. The rate is considered a better indicator of increased safety than the raw number of deaths because the number of workers has fallen since the beginning of the recession.
• Construction had been stuck in the range of 9.7 to 9.9 deaths per 100,000 for several years.
• Construction is still significantly more dangerous than other occupations, however. The fatality rate for all industrial sectors in 2011 was 3.5.

From the article:

Construction workplace deaths declined 6.8% in 2011, to 721 from 774 in 2010 and the industry's fatality rate also was down, to 8.9 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, from 9.8 in 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. ...