Worker Absenteeism Due to Sickness and Accidents. A Key Labour Market Indicator

Absenteeism due to sickness and accidents depends on labour supply and demand factors. The propensity to be sick varies with age and gender; in the EU the sick leave rate tends to be higher for women than for men; exceptions are Austria, Germany and Belgium. The sick leave rate is highest for older workers (50 to 64 year olds) and lowest for middle-aged workers (25 to 40 year olds). In older workers, absenteeism is high as a result of long spells of sickness; the incidence of sickness in the course of a year is relatively low. This is in stark contrast to young workers who have frequent spells of sick leave over the year, which nevertheless do not last long. The duration of a spell of sickness increases with age. Absenteeism differs by industry. It is highest in the construction and manufacturing industries as well as in public administration including defence, and lowest in banking and private sector education. Austria has a relatively low incidence of absenteeism compared to other EU countries. This is partly the result of the low activity rate of older workers – jointly with Belgium and Italy, Austria has the lowest activity rate of older workers in the EU – partly a consequence of the limited shift of service production from the household to the market sector. The objective of the government to increase the activity rate of older workers, a requirement of coordinated EU employment policy as well as a response to counter the financial pressure on public funds due to population ageing, implies a rise in the sick leave rate of workers in the coming years.