USA Today (02/23/21)

More workers called in sick in 2020 than at any time in at least two decades, a USA TODAY analysis of federal labor market data has found.

An average of 1.5 million people a month missed work because of their “own illness/injury/medical problems,” survey data show –  45% more than normal over the past 20 years.

Child care-related absences increased even more, soaring to 250% of the 20-year average. Roughly 67,000 people a month said child care problems made them miss work.

While the rise in sick days during the pandemic was perhaps not surprising by itself, the data from the monthly Current Population Survey are the first to concretely quantify the sweeping magnitude of COVID-19’s impact on the American workplace.

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