Workplace fatalities dropped in Michigan last year, and the trend is lower across the nation over the last two decades.

Center for Disease Control figures released last month said the worker death rate in 1997 (remarkably, the most recent information they have available) was 4.1 per 100,000 workers, down 45 percent from 1980, when it was 7.4 per 100,000.

"The hazards workers face are considerably different," said Suzanne Marsh of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. "We're moving from an industrial country to more of a service-oriented country."

In Michigan, the long-term numbers aren't so good. An average of 73 workers in all industries died every year from 1997-2000, compared to 52 from 1993-1997. Injuries are also up significantly over the last four years

In Michigan's construction industry, workplace fatalities have been all over the map since 1985. According to MIOSHA figures, 23 workers were killed on the job in 2000 - one less than the 24 Hardhats killed in both 1985 and 1986. The lowest number since that time was 15 killed in 1992; the highest, 35 in 1998.