The demographics of the American workforce are changing dramatically. Few employers are ready for what this will likely mean to the frequency and impact of work injuries on their bottom lines. As America ages, the number of workers over 55 years of age will rise along with it. This will likely mean fewer workplace injuries, but also a much slower recovery time for the injuries that do occur. A number of studies point to the impact of an older workforce and to the unprepared nature of our employers.
Older U.S. Workers Mean a Change in Workplace Injuries
Fatal Injury Rate Still High in Construction Work
The construction industry employs roughly 6.5 million people in the United States. Many of those workers are exposed to an elevated and unacceptable risk of on the job injury. Statistics released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration show that those workers are exposed to a higher risk of fatal injury than those in other fields. The Center for Construction Research and Training did a study that concluded that a lifelong construction worker was five times more likely to die in a workplace accident than workers in all other fields. Construction work is dangerous and there are several reasons this continues to be true.
