More Than Half of U.S. Child Labor Deaths Lack Key Data, GAO Warns

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finds critical gaps in federal data on workplace deaths of people under 18, hampering efforts to identify risks, enforce protections and prevent future tragedies.

Key Findings

The GAO reviewed 260 child workplace fatality cases from 2013–2023 and found incomplete information in more than half of them. Between 2013 and 2023, an average of 24 children under 18 died each year in work-related incidents.

Data Gaps

• Of the 260 cases reviewed, over half lacked detailed records on either the industry where the child worked or the cause of death.
• Industry was recorded for 109 fatalities; of those, 75% worked in agriculture.
• Cause of death was recorded for 111 fatalities; about two-thirds were transportation-related incidents.
• The DOL’s workplace fatality records contain missing fields for industry and cause of death, and a 2021 change in how injuries and illnesses among working children are collected prevents direct comparison with earlier years.

Enforcement, Trends and Coordination

• The GAO identified diminished coordination among federal agencies as a major contributor to incomplete data. It found that since January 2025 the U.S. Department of Labor’s collaboration with other federal agencies on child labor activities has "largely diminished."
• Between fiscal years 2015 and 2025, 59% of child labor law violations involved employers scheduling 14- or 15-year-olds to work longer hours or later shifts than federal law permits.
• During the same period, 62% of violations occurred in the accommodation and food services industry.
• The number of minors employed in violation of child labor laws rose from 1,012 in FY2015 to 5,272 in FY2025, and 19 states have relaxed child labor rules since 2021.
• The GAO said the Wage and Hour Division "has not fully addressed" enforcement challenges it faces in protecting young workers.

Response and Policy

The report was produced after a July 2023 request from Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), ranking member of the House Education and Labor Committee, to evaluate the scale of child labor, the government’s capacity to monitor and enforce laws, and how effectively illegal child labor is being addressed.

“The GAO report shows that the Trump administration's upheaval of federal agencies has harmed children,” Rep. Scott said, arguing that reduced coordination and cuts at research agencies such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have had "real harms."

Scott has introduced the Protecting Children Act, a bill to strengthen data collection and use to improve enforcement and prevention.

Why This Matters

Without reliable data on where children work and how they are injured or killed, policymakers and enforcement agencies cannot target high-risk industries or design effective interventions. The GAO’s findings point to immediate needs: restore cross-agency coordination, reinstate or replace discontinued datasets, and fill critical fields in fatality records so trends and risks can be tracked accurately.