Spain's workplace absenteeism hits 7.6% in 2025, costing the economy a record €59.1 billion

Workplace absenteeism in Spain reached its highest level on record in 2025, climbing to 7.6% of agreed working hours and generating a direct cost of 59,109 million euros for the national economy, according to the XV Annual Adecco Report on Healthy Companies and Absenteeism Management. The figure represents an 11.7% increase on 2024 and nearly doubles the 30,171 million euros recorded in 2019, before the pandemic.

What is driving the increase

The surge is overwhelmingly explained by temporary incapacity (IT), the component covering medically certified sick leave. IT represented close to 78% of all absenteeism in 2025, reaching its own record rate of 5.95% of agreed hours. The Ministry of Social Security, led by Elma Sáiz, is now studying a revision of the 'Manual of Optimal Times', a guide last updated in 2017 that helps doctors, inspectors and mutual insurance companies determine how long a leave should last for each pathology. The number of IT processes has grown 60% since 2018, with average duration extending to 42.3 days.

It serves as a guide and technical orientation for decision-making by the doctor who prescribes the leave.

The bill for the state and companies

Public spending on temporary incapacity has ballooned to 18,000 million euros, making it the second-largest benefit expenditure for Social Security, behind only pensions. When broader costs such as lost productivity are included, the total impact on the economy reaches an estimated 3.7% of GDP, equivalent to 59,109 million euros. The CEOE employers' association calculates that companies assume slightly more than half of the direct cost, around 17,000 million euros, covering salaries and replacement expenses for the 1.6 million people absent from work each day.

Absenteeism responds to a combination of structural factors and not only to the increase in sick leave.

Regional divide: who leads and who lags

País Vasco, Canarias and Cantabria recorded the highest absenteeism rates in 2025, all averaging 9.6%. Cantabria saw the sharpest year-on-year rise, climbing 1.3 percentage points. At the opposite end, Baleares posted the lowest rate at 6.2%, followed by Madrid at 6.6% and La Rioja at 6.7%. In absolute economic terms, Cataluña bore the heaviest cost at 11,557 million euros, ahead of Madrid (10,290 million) and Andalucía (7,410 million). The smallest impacts were felt in La Rioja (332 million), Cantabria (838 million) and Extremadura (839 million).

Sector-by-sector breakdown

Industry registered the highest absenteeism rate by sector at 8.18%, followed by services at 7.62% and construction at 6.25%. All three sectors increased compared to 2024: construction rose 0.43 points, industry 0.34 points and services 0.33 points. However, services concentrated the largest economic impact at 45,096.1 million euros (up 13.12%), while industry accounted for 11,087.9 million (up 16.21%) and construction 2,924.6 million (up 11.04%). Within specific activities, postal and courier services had the highest rate at 13%, followed by building and gardening services at 12.5% and gambling activities at 12.2%.

What comes next in 2026

The Adecco report includes an advance estimate for the first quarter of 2026, which places the national absenteeism rate again at 7.6%, suggesting the phenomenon has consolidated above pre-pandemic levels. In Castilla y León, the early 2026 rate is near 7.7%, one tenth above its 2025 figure. The Ministry of Social Security is advancing preparations to update the optimal-times manual, aiming to give medical professionals updated references for extending or closing temporary incapacity cases.