Absenteeism & Sickness Absence Benchmarks
Absence rate · Private sector, US
Definition: employed full-time wage and salary workers absent from work in reference week (CPS definition)
US CPS-definition calculator — compares only against US BLS segments. Never compare this figure directly to the UK/EU figures below without adjusting for denominator differences (F3).
2025 annual average. BLS Current Population Survey, Table 47.
| Segment | Value | Vintage |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector, US | 3% | 2025 annual average |
| Public sector, US | 4.2% | 2025 annual average |
| Construction, US | 2.3% | 2025 annual average |
| Manufacturing, US | 2.9% | 2025 annual average |
| Retail trade, US | 3.4% | 2025 annual average |
| Financial activities, US | 2.7% | 2025 annual average |
| Health care, US | 3.8% | 2025 annual average |
| Leisure & hospitality, US | 3.4% | 2025 annual average |
| Federal government, US | 5% | 2025 annual average |
Denominator: employed full-time wage and salary workers absent from work in reference week (CPS definition)
2025. Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0. Different survey design and denominator than BLS — not directly comparable (F3).
| Segment | Value | Vintage |
|---|---|---|
| UK, all sectors | 2% | 2025 |
| UK, all sectors | 148.8 million days | 2025 |
| UK, all sectors | 4.4 days/worker | 2025 |
Denominator: ONS LFS-based sickness absence definition; 'official statistics in development' caveat · ONS LFS-based sickness absence definition
Where no verifiable open benchmark exists, we say so — instead of publishing a number that doesn’t hold up.
Fixed methodology boxes — see /methodology for the full policy.