Over half of 260 workplace child fatalities between 2013 and 2023 lacked data on cause of death or the industry worked

Information is missing on over half of deaths at work of people under the age of 18 in the US because of significant gaps in child labor data, according to a government accountability office (GAO) report released on Tuesday.

The report found that between 2013 and 2023, an average of 24 children under the age of 18 died each year due to work-related incidents. Over half of the 260 child fatality cases did not contain detailed data on the cause of death or the industry the child worked in.

Among the 109 fatalities with a reported industry, 75% worked in agriculture. Among the 111 fatalities with a reported cause of death, two-thirds of fatalities were caused by transportation incidents.