Drug overdose mortality varies widely by occupation, and construction is an especially deadly industry. Construction and extraction jobs led all others in the first year of the pandemic with 162.6 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 workers, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The overall drug overdose rate increased most years from 1999 to 2020, and in 2021 the U.S. drug overdose rate was 50% higher than in 2019, the report found. Provisional data from 2022 shows drug overdoses dropped 2% from the year before.
Construction and extraction occupations’ high overdose mortality rate not only led all industries in 2020, but the 162.6 deaths per 100,000 workers were significantly higher than the 117.9 in food preparation and serving-related occupations, which had the second highest rate.
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