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. Work-related characteristics, such as the prevalence of workplace injuries, precarious employment, health insurance status, stress, lack of access to paid sick leave and unique stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the “prevalence and management of substance use disorders,” the CDC said. In the broader industry group, construction led all categories with a rate of 130.9 deaths, followed by accommodation and food services with 99.6.
https://www.constructiondive.com/news/construction-highest-overdose-death-rate-cdc/691723/