According to information provider BNA's latest quarterly Job Absence and Turnover Report, median unscheduled absence rates hit a new record low of 0.6 percent of scheduled worker days, down from the previous quarter's level of 0.7 percent.
Absenteeism was also lower than in the third quarters of 2010 and 2009, when it was measured at 0.8 and 0.7 percent, respectively. The change was most pronounced among large employers, according to researchers, while enterprises with fewer than 250 employees saw a smaller decline. The last category already had a lower level of absenteeism than the others, however. Even with the decline, employers with more than 2,500 workers experienced the highest rates of absence at 1.1 percent.
Businesses with 250 to 499 workers experienced no significant change, according to the report, while mid-sized employers with 500 to 999 employees had their absenteeism rate increase from 0.4 percent to 0.7 percent.
"When the economy is as volatile as it has been, people are much for apt to make the effort to come to work when they aren't feeling well," said BNA surveys director Matthew Sottong. "There has always been a correlation between high unemployment and low absenteeism, and this survey bears that out."
Unlike absenteeism, the survey found employee turnover increased nationally. Rapid turnover may put a strain on HR management systems as businesses attempt to cope with the shifts of new and departing personnel.
