b'Construction Injury Rate Drops toBut the nonfatal injury rate has dropped in the last Lowest in Over a Decade decade, according to Amber Trueblood, data center director for Silver Spring, Maryland-based CPWRThe Center for Construction Research and Training. Last years nonfatal total recordable case rate was 41% lower than it was in 2011, making it the lowest The rate at which construction workers got injured orits ever been in that time period, Trueblood said. became sick on the job decreased in 2023, though the raw number of injuries on jobsites increased, accordingNonetheless, the data does have flaws, Trueblood to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statisticssaid. It is self-reported by approximately 233,000 on Nov. 8.employers, Trueblood said, and excludes self-Construction recorded 2.3 nonfatal occupationalemployed workers, workers on farms with fewer than injuries or illnesses per 100 full-time equivalent10 employees, volunteers and federal government workers last year, per the BLS, a drop from 2.4 inworkers.2022. Seven out of 19 measured industries had higher incidence rates, and constructions rate fell just belowThe numbers dont represent a consensus, but rather the total average for all U.S. industries of 2.4.an estimate to help monitor health and safety, she said. The raw number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses,Chris Trahain Cain, executive director for CPWR, however, increased 2.1%, from 169,600 to 173,200,said she is optimistic but called for more work to be per the BLS. Five industries counted more injuries and illnesses in 2023 than construction.done. All told, the private construction industry accountedWhile its important to keep the limitations of the for 6.7% of total recordable nonfatal occupationalrecordable injury rate in mind, its encouraging to see injuries and illnesses in 2023, up from 6.0% in 2022. this years decline, especially since the rate is the lowest its been in a dozen years, Cain said. The Construction workplace injury rate has declinedrate is still too high, especially since there are proven steadily since 2011methods for dramatically reducing injuries on construction jobsites. Nonfatal injury and illness incident rate per 100 equivalent full-time workers according to self-reportedThe report also only measures nonfatal injuries. The data by private U.S. employers.BLS will release data on industry fatalities in 2023 on Dec. 19. By Zachary PhillipsEditor5'