Germany records highest annual sick leave rate in 25 yrs

BERLIN, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The rate of sick leave among employees in Germany reached 5.5 percent in 2022, a record high since the rate was first recorded in 1997, health insurance company DAK-Gesundheit said on Friday.

View of the sliding doors offering access to the intensive care unit (ICU) at the pediatric ward of Berlin's Saint Joseph Hospital on December 13, 2022. (File photo: AFP)

German employees were on sick leave for almost 20 days on average last year, an increase of 38 percent year on year, according to the company's analysis, which is based on data from about 2.4 million DAK-insured employees in Germany.

"This record level of sick leave is alarming and should be a wake-up call for the economy," said Andreas Storm, CEO of DAK-Gesundheit, in a statement.

He added that although the number of severe COVID-19 cases has decreased significantly, the "high level of sick leave has a massive impact on the labor market."

Respiratory diseases, such as colds and bronchitis, were responsible for most days of absence from work. The sickness rate caused by this group of diseases soared 172 percent compared to the previous year, according to DAK.

The situation is unlikely to improve in the short term. "A high number of viral respiratory illnesses can still be expected due to seasonal factors in the coming weeks," the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) warned in its latest weekly report.