There are two concerning trends in construction that could combine in a devastating way: the persistently high fatality rate among construction workers, and the ongoing worker shortage in the construction industry.

Neither of these trends is exactly new. Year after year, the list of industries with the greatest number of worker fatalities includes “construction.” In 2013, for instance, nearly one-fifth of all US work-related fatalities took place on construction worksites.

As for the worker shortage, that’s been worrisome for some time. In fact, a recent Associated General Contractors of America survey found that, while 88 percent of California construction executives planned to hire hourly craftsmen over the next year, 80 percent of them anticipated having difficulty doing so.

According to state data, California construction companies employed 734,800 in July—27 percent more workers than were employed during the construction industry’s 2011 low point. It’s also the highest level of construction employment in seven years, according to the Orange County Register.

That’s positive news—but there’s still a long way to go to a full recovery. At the industry’s 2006 peak, it employed nearly 966,000 workers.

So California is faced with a growing construction industry—without the worker pool to fill it.

And what does that mean? Companies will turn to temporary workers to fill their empty positions. And that means a potential increase in construction industry fatalities.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has already reported that injuries fatal to contract workers are on the rise, increasing from 15 percent of all workplace fatalities in 2012 to 17 percent of all workplace fatalities just one year later. And half of those deceased workers were employed in the construction and extraction industries.

If your company is using contract workers—and especially if your company is going to be using growing numbers of contract workers—it’s important to ensure that they are thoroughly trained and fully integrated into your workforce. Not only will that help to ensure the contract workers’ safety, it will help to ensure the safety of your other workers—and the quality of the work they do.

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