The results underline the importance of planning and safety at every stage of work.

Construction-related workers accounted for the second highest number of workplace deaths among major groups in 2004 (1,129 fatalities, up from 1,038 in 2003). The grouping includes landscape contractors, but doesn?EUR??,,????'???t itemize statistics for the subgroup.

The bureau reports that 168 ?EUR??,,????'??grounds maintenance workers?EUR??,,????'?? were killed on the job in 2004. The largest percentage (25 percent) died in falls, with ?EUR??,,????'??struck by object?EUR??,,????'?? (15 percent) the second biggest category.

A total of 5,703 on-the-job deaths were recorded in the United States in 2004. That was up 2 percent from the total of 5,575 fatalities in 2003.

Among the individual occupations with high rates of fatal injury were logging workers 92.4 per 100,000 workers), aircraft pilots and flight engineers (92.4 per 100,000), fishers and related fishing workers (86.4 per 100,000), and structural iron and steel workers (47.0 per 100,000).

Fatal work injuries among construction trade workers rose from 788 in 2003 to 870 in 2004, and accounted for most of the increase for this occupational group. The 94 fatal work injuries involving roofers was a sharp increase from the 55 fatal work injuries recorded in 2003 and accounted for nearly half of the increase among construction trade workers.

The number of fatal work injuries involving Latino workers was sharply higher in 2004 after declining for the two previous years. The number of fatally injured Hispanic or Latino workers rose from 794 in 2003 to 883 in 2004, an increase of 11 percent.

The landscape industry?EUR??,,????'???s Professional Landcare Network recently awarded 20 firms its STARS designation to recognize outstanding safety measures. The program teaches landscape contractors and maintenance firms how to reinforce on-the-job safety.