Office of Publications & Special Studies

Illness-related work absences during flu season

Chart 2. Percent of usual full-time workers who worked 1–34 hours due to illness-related reasons, April 2005–March 2010
Date	Percent
Apr 2005	2.5
May 2005	2.5
Jun 2005	2.0
Jul 2005	1.8
Aug 2005	1.8
Sep 2005	2.3
Oct 2005	2.3
Nov 2005	2.1
Dec 2005	2.6
Jan 2006	2.9
Feb 2006	3.2
Mar 2006	2.7
Apr 2006	1.9
May 2006	2.1
Jun 2006	2.0
Jul 2006	1.7
Aug 2006	1.8
Sep 2006	2.1
Oct 2006	2.1
Nov 2006	2.1
Dec 2006	2.7
Jan 2007	2.7
Feb 2007	2.8
Mar 2007	2.7
Apr 2007	2.3
May 2007	2.2
Jun 2007	1.8
Jul 2007	1.7
Aug 2007	1.8
Sep 2007	2.1
Oct 2007	2.1
Nov 2007	2.4
Dec 2007	2.7
Jan 2008	2.8
Feb 2008	3.4
Mar 2008	2.7
Apr 2008	2.4
May 2008	2.2
Jun 2008	1.9
Jul 2008	1.6
Aug 2008	1.8
Sep 2008	2.0
Oct 2008	2.0
Nov 2008	2.1
Dec 2008	2.5
Jan 2009	2.6
Feb 2009	3.0
Mar 2009	2.6
Apr 2009	2.1
May 2009	2.2
Jun 2009	2.1
Jul 2009	1.8
Aug 2009	1.7
Sep 2009(1)	1.3
Oct 2009	2.3
Nov 2009	2.1
Dec 2009	2.5
Jan 2010	2.8
Feb 2010(2)	2.4
Mar 2010	2.6
Footnotes: (1) Absences in this month were higher than normal in large part because the Labor Day holiday fell during the survey reference week. (2) Absences in this month were higher than normal in large part because there were record-breaking snowfalls along the east coast that closed businesses (including the federal government) for most of the week.
NOTE: Peak flu season—the months from December through March—are shaded for clarity. SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.