NYCOSH Report: New York City Construction Worker Deaths Increase for Third Year in a Row

The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) has released its annual construction fatality report, “Deadly Skyline: An Annual Report on Construction Fatalities in New York State.” The report analyzed data from 2022, the most recent data year available, and found an increase in construction worker death rates in New York City. Fatalities, which are back up to pre-pandemic levels, have increased for the third year in a row. Construction work is especially deadly for Latinx workers, who make up just one-tenth of the workforce, but one-quarter of deaths on the job.

Twenty-four construction workers died in NYC in 2022, compared to 20 in 2021 (a 20% increase) and 13 in 2020 (an 85% increase in two years). New York City’s rate increased from 11.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2021 to 11.5 per 100,000 in 2022, a 2.7% increase.

Latinx workers make up a disproportionately high percentage of worker fatalities in New York. An estimated 10% of New York State’s workers are Latinx, but in 2022, 25.4% of worker fatalities were of Latinx workers.

“We see a decrease in agency enforcement and a trend of increasing fatalities in New York City, and of course we are concerned. We write this report to sound the alarm on construction safety and to remind New Yorkers that behind every fatality is a whole person who is a part of our communities,” said Charlene Obernauer, NYCOSH Executive Director. Read more here.