Work-related deaths in Hawaii spiked in 2014, reaching the highest level since the federal government began tracking the number in 1992.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday that 31 people died due to work-related injuries in Hawaii in 2014, nearly triple the previous year’s number. There were 11 work-related deaths in 2013.

The jump could be related to the strong economy, which has led to a record number of workers employed in the state.

“We would expect, based on the employee numbers going up, there would be more people in the workforce, meaning there is more possibility for people to get injured or killed,” said Bill Kunstman, spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

The majority of workplace-related deaths were a result of transportation incidents, with 14 reported fatalities. Construction jobs were linked to nine deaths in 2014, up from three in 2013.

It’s a worker’s responsibility to be safe while working at a construction site, said Paul Vertido, a carpenter apprentice working in Kakaako on Thursday.

“I know every time I am up there, I make sure I go home,” Vertido said. “We’re all trained. Safety is kind of a touchy issue because it is everybody’s own responsibility to work safe. We do have safety people walking around the job, but they are not here all the time.”

Seven of the deaths in 2014 were caused by falls, slips or trips, the report said.

Vertido said one worker at the Kakaako site where he works avoided a fatal fall because he tied off, the practice where the worker is fastened to a taut rope connected to anchor points.

“There was a guy who fell, but he tied off and he was fine,” Vertido said.

The construction industry is one of the major employers in the state, with roughly 35,000 employees in November. It is the leading industry in job growth, adding 600 jobs in November over October, according to a Dec. 17 report released by the state Department of Labor.

Because of the growth in the industry, there are more possibilities for accidents, Kunstman said.

“Construction is always one of the highest for fatalities,” Kunstman said.

For the United States as a whole, there were 4,679 deaths from work-related injuries in 2014.

In Hawaii, men accounted for 26, or 84 percent, of the fatalities. Workers 25 to 54 years old — the prime working age group — accounted for 20 fatalities, or 65 percent. Workers in this age group accounted for 58 percent of work-related fatalities nationally.

Approximately 81 percent of those who suffered fatal work injuries in Hawaii worked for wages and salaries. The remainder were self-employed.

In the United States, transportation incidents were also the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2014, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. In Hawaii, transportation incidents accounted for 45 percent of the state’s share of fatalities — six of them caused by nonroadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles.

Contact with objects or equipment, and violence and other injuries by persons or animals, each accounted for about 16 percent of the nation’s workplace fatalities. In Hawaii they accounted for 10 percent and 13 percent of workplace fatalities, respectively.

According to the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division, employees are required to follow company safety rules and are encouraged to find ways to make the workplace safer. Supervisors are also responsible for their employees’ safety.

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CORRECTION: Bill Kunstman is the spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. An earlier version of this story and the story on page A1 of Friday’s paper misspelled his name.

For workplace safety guidelines, standards and self-inspection lists, visit labor.hawaii.gov/hiosh.