Study Shows Bigger Risks to Workers' Health

In addition to physical challenges on the job, construction workers have more health risks than workers in other business sectors, according to a new analysis of 2012-14 federal health and insurance data for millions of workers by the Center for Construction Research and Training, a national building-trades unit.

About 31% of 9.4 million construction workers had no health insurance, twice that for workers in all industries, and fewer had employer- or union-provided coverage.

Only 22% of uninsured construction workers had a routine medical exam in the previous year, and 18.2% had never had one, versus 59% and 4.6%, respectively, for insured workers.

Overall, 50.1% of all construction workers reported at least one doctor-diagnosed health condition.

Among Hispanics, who comprise 24% of the construction labor force versus 15.5% of all industries, only 23.5% had employment-based health insurance.