According to working time accounts of the German Institute of Employment Research, working hours lost per employee therefore increased to 91 hours in 2022 compared with 68 hours in 2021, an increase of around a third. Available evidence from other larger euro area countries is more limited, but also points to increases in sick leaves in 2022.
In Italy, the total number of sick leave days increased in 2022 by 34% compared with the previous year. In France, the number of employees with at least one day of sick leave is reported to have increased by about 11% in 2022 compared with 2021.