CPWR Releases Updated Construction Chart Book

CPWR has released the latest update of Construction Chart Book: The U.S. Construction Industry and Its Workers. This publication has been the most comprehensive source of construction statistics since its launch in the 1990s. Developed with funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Chart Book utilizes a broad range of publicly available data sources to examine trends and identify issues affecting construction workers and the industry.

This 7th edition continues to cover the main topics from earlier Chart Books, such as construction industry economics, demographics, employment trends, exposures, hazards, and injuries or illnesses. It also highlights new issues, like the COVID-19 pandemic, that have affected the industry and its workers in the past five years.

Among the key findings:

• Employment in construction continues to grow, increasing 31.6% from 2011 to 2023. Chapter 10
• Hispanic construction workers account for almost a third of the workforce, increasing 18.1% from 2020 to 2022. Chapter 16
• The number of construction workers 55 years or older increased 73.3% from 2011 to 2024. Chapter 15
• While the number of self-employed construction workers has reached 2.7 million, they remain unprotected by OSHA safety and health standards. Chapter 23
• Falls continue to be the leading source of fatal work injuries, with a 12.9% increase in the rate of fatal falls, slips, and trips from 2011 to 2022. Chapter 42
• Musculoskeletal disorders remain a substantial problem, with 33,200 workers missing work from 2021 to 2022 because of them. Chapter 45

Even with these improvements, the Chart Book's goal remains the same: to give everyone in the construction industry timely data that supports growth and helps every worker return home safely each day.

Click here to read the Construction Chart Book.