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There were 72 fatalities in construction during 2007/8 compared with 77 the previous year. But despite the slight reduction, these accounted for 31% of the 229 fatalities that occurred across all industries.

The rate of major injury in construction remained higher than in any other profession, with 599.2 per 100,000 employees suffering injuries this year.

Judith Hackitt, chair of the HSE, called for a 鈥渟tep change鈥�, and said the construction industry is of 鈥減articular concern鈥�.

She warned employers not to 鈥渢ake their eyes off the ball in the difficult and uncertain months ahead鈥�, amid fears the credit crunch could lead to corners being cut in health and safety on site.

Shelly Atkinson-Frost, director of health and safety at the Strategic Forum, said the statistics were disappointing.

Falls or accidents with transport are usually to blame, but are easily preventable

Shelly Atkinson-Frost, Strategic Forum

鈥淭he causation remains the same,鈥� she said. 鈥淔alls or accidents with transport are usually to blame, but they are all easily preventable.鈥� She added that closer attention needed to be paid to smaller projects on which, she said, most incidents occur.

The rate of work-related musculoskeletal disorders was also higher in construction than across all other industries.

The HSE said the rate of fatal injuries in construction over the past decade had indicated a downward trend, but figures in recent years have shown little change.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of Ucatt, said the number of deaths remained unacceptably high. He also said they were misleading, after a report by the University of Liverpool in 2007 found that only 30% of employees report injuries.