Comparison of fatal occupational injuries in construction industry in the United States, South Korea, and China

In order to understand country specific similarities and differences in fatality risks of construction industry, this study compared the profile of fatal occupational injuries (FOI) in construction industry in three countries. Occupational fatal injury data of U.S., South Korea, and China from 2011 to 2015 were obtained from various public resources and analyzed with statistical analyses. Results showed that the construction industry in all three countries had consistently high FOI and the top common accident types were "fall from a higher level" and "struck by". China recorded the highest average number of FOI in construction of 2328, followed by the U.S. of 881 and South Korea of 533. However, South Korea had the highest average mortality rate of 17.9, followed by the U.S. of 9.4 and China of 5.3. In addition, Poisson regression indicated that the number of FOI of the U.S. increased at an annual rate of 5.8%, whereas China's decreased at 7.1% and South Korea's decreased at 4.9%. The similarities and differences between U.S. and South Korea in workforce profile of FOI were also reported. However, the findings should be interpreted with caution due to probable underreporting of FOI and differences in surveillance systems.