Construction workplace deaths declined 6.8% in 2011, to 721 from 774 in 2010 and the industry's fatality rate also was down, to 8.9 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, from 9.8 in 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported.
BLS said that the 2011 data in its annual report on fatal occupational injuries, released on Sept. 20, are preliminary. It will issue final numbers for 2011 next spring.