Construction workers have the highest number of drug overdose deaths of any occupation in New York City, according to the latest health department data.
In 2020 (the latest year for this data), 269 construction workers died from OD.
Another 114 workers in the food preparation and service industry died from OD, and 94 sales workers died from OD, the data showed.
Office and administrative support sectors had high overdose death rates, with 83 deaths; transportation, 77; and material moving, 75.
A total of 2,062 people died from drug overdoses in 2020, according to the Department of Health.
Danielle Ompard, an epidemiologist at New York University who studies drug addiction, said the construction industry’s high injury rates and lack of sick pay may exacerbate workers’ dependence on painkillers.
“There is some kind of incentive in the construction industry for people to work injured,” she said. “A lot of times there’s no sick leave, especially if they’re not in a union job.”
One Midtown worker recalled to The Washington Post that one of his coworkers was found dead in a porta-potty on the job site with a needle sticking out of his arm.
“They take painkillers to get by and then they become addicted,” said Joe Brown, a 35-year-old carpenter.
“Also dealing with job stress: being laid off, not being able to find a job, knowing I’m working this month but not next month,” he said, noting that the construction industry lost tens of thousands of jobs in the first year of the pandemic. post.
Fatal drug overdoses in New York City have surged by at least 96% since April 2019, with 2,820 people dying from drug overdoses in the year ending in April 2023, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The city’s drug epidemic has been exacerbated by the increasing availability of fentanyl, with the deadly opioid detected in 80 percent of overdose deaths, according to the Department of Health.
