By the Numbers: 21 September 2026

64%  

The percentage of construction workers who "reported experiencing anxiety or depression in the previous 12 months, substantially higher than the 30% rate reported among US adults in general," according to an article in JAMA Health Forum -- Mental Health and Construction—Intervening to Prevent Collapse.
 

According to a 2023 National Vital Statistics Report, the construction and extraction industry experienced the highest drug overdose death rates (162.6 deaths per 100 000 workers) in the US, approximately 7 times higher than the general population (23.1 deaths per 100 000 standard population), and significantly higher than other industries involving manual labor, such as grounds cleaning and maintenance (70.0 deaths per 100 000 workers); farming, fishing, and forestry (51.3 deaths per 100 000 workers); food preparation and service (117.9 deaths per 100 000 workers); installation, maintenance, and repair (69.9 deaths per 100 000 workers); and transportation and material moving (70.7 deaths per 100 000 workers).