According to the 15th Adecco Report on Healthy Workplaces and Absenteeism Management, absenteeism cost the Spanish economy €59,109 million last year, 11.7 per cent more than in 2024 and almost double the figure for 2019, when it stood at €30,171 million.
Reported by Consejeros Editorial Team
Spain is facing 2026 with absenteeism at historically high levels. Data from the fifteenth edition of the Adecco Report on Healthy Workplaces and Absenteeism Management points to an average rate of 7.6 per cent of agreed working hours in 2025 – a record high for the series – and temporary incapacity accounting for nearly 78 per cent of total absenteeism, with a rate of 5.95 per cent, also a record high for the series. These figures mean that absenteeism cost the Spanish economy €59,109 million last year. This figure represents an 11.7 per cent increase on 2024 and is almost double that of 2019 (€30,171 million), reflecting both the rise in the rate and the increase in labour costs.
By autonomous community, the Basque Country, the Canary Islands and Cantabria recorded the highest rates of absenteeism in 2025, all averaging 9.6%. Year-on-year, the largest increase among these three communities was in Cantabria, at 1.3 percentage points, followed by the Canary Islands, at 0.6 percentage points, and the Basque Country, at 0.2 percentage points.
At the other end of the scale are the Balearic Islands, with the lowest rate, although this has risen slightly to 6.2 per cent (0.3 percentage points year-on-year), followed by the Community of Madrid, at 6.6 per cent (0.3 percentage points), and La Rioja, at 6.7 per cent (with a drop of 0.3 percentage points).
As a new feature, the report also analyses absenteeism in terms of cost. In this regard, the autonomous communities where absenteeism has the greatest economic impact are Catalonia, at €11,557 million; the Community of Madrid, at €10,290 million; and Andalusia, at €7,410 million. Conversely, the lowest costs are recorded in La Rioja, at €332 million; Cantabria, at €838 million; and Extremadura, at €839 million.
For Carlos Arcas, director of The Adecco Group Institute, the problem of absenteeism requires looking beyond sick leave: “The high rate of absenteeism observed in 2025 (and projected for 2026) must be interpreted as the result of a complex interplay between business, demographic, health and organisational factors.
Improving productivity and achieving a sustainable reduction in absenteeism will require a comprehensive approach that includes reforms to the management of public health services, greater institutional coordination and a firm commitment to prevention and occupational health.”
Mental health is emerging as one of the major drivers of work absenteeism. According to the report, it is now the second leading cause of temporary incapacity in terms of the number of episodes and the leading cause in terms of average duration. Sick leave due to mental health issues has risen by 111 per cent in five years. Furthermore, sick leave caused by mental health problems is more likely to become chronic than that caused by physical conditions.
The Adecco report also includes preliminary data on absenteeism during the first quarter of 2026, based on the Labour Cost Survey published quarterly by the INE (pending the publication of official data from Social Security, the INSS and the mutual insurance schemes), which is expected to remain at 7.6 per cent.
