GAO Finds Accounting of Child Labor Deaths Lacking

Federal watchdogs say the US can't fully explain how many working children are dying, or why. A new Government Accountability Office report finds that from 2013 to 2023, an average of 24 minors a year died on the job, but more than half of the 260 deaths lack basic details like cause of death or industry, per the Guardian. Of the cases that included the industry, three-quarters were in agriculture; of those with a cause of death, about two-thirds involved transportation.

The GAO blames poor coordination and frayed collaboration at the Labor Department since January 2025, plus halted surveys and datasets, for the gaps. The report also flags rising violations—5,272 minors working illegally in 2025, up from 1,012 a decade earlier—and heavy noncompliance in restaurants and hotels, as Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott pushes a bill to strengthen data collection. "The GAO report shows that the Trump Administration's upheaval of federal agencies has harmed children," Scott says in a release. The GAO, meanwhile, looks more closely at what can be done to protect young workers.