Absenteeism due to sickness lower in the first quarter

In the first quarter of 2003 absenteeism due to sickness in the public and private sectors fell sharply. In private companies it fell by 0.6 percentage points on the first quarter of 2002. There was actually even a 1 percent decrease in the public sector.

Fewer people ill in the private sector

Absenteeism due to sickness in the private sector was on average 5.3 percent in the first quarter of 2003. This means that on average one private sector employee in nineteen stayed home sick each day. This is not as much as in the same quarter of 2002, when 5.9 percent stayed home sick. This constitutes the sharpest decrease in absenteeism due to sickness in the private sector since 1997.

Absenteeism due to sickness in the private sector, Q1

Absenteeism due to sickness in care sector continues to fall

Absenteeism due to sickness fell most steeply in agriculture and fisheries, going from 4.3 to 2.8 percent within a one year period. There was also a sharp decrease in non-commercial services. The drop in absenteeism due to sickness was mainly caused by a decrease in health and welfare. In the care sector absenteeism fell from 8 to 7 percent, although absenteeism due to sickness tends to be high in the first quarter due to seasonal influences.

Absenteeism due to sickness in the private sector, by sector, Q1

Absenteeism due to sickness in major companies substantially lower

The level of absenteeism due to sickness went down particularly in large companies. While absenteeism due to sickness among companies with 100 or more employees was 7.5 percent in the first quarter of 2002, it was down to 6.6 percent in the first quarter of 2003. Absenteeism due to sickness increased somewhat in small companies.

Civil servants in central government show less absenteeism

In central government absenteeism due to sickness fell from 8.3 percent in the first quarter 2002 to 7.3 percent in the first quarter of 2003. The drop in absenteeism due to sickness in central government could already been observed in 2002.

Absenteeism due to sickness in the public sector, Q1

Different calculation method for absenteeism due to sickness in central government

The rate of absenteeism is much higher in the public sector than it is in the private sector. This is because people who have been ill for more than one year are included.

Public sector absenteeism without absences of more than a year was about 1.2 percent lower in 2002. In comparisons with the private sector it is also important to note that the public sector consists almost entirely of institutions with more than 100 employees.

John Kartopawiro