The Cost of Missed Work due to COVID-19 Approaching $1 Billion per Week

This infographic displays COVID-19 lost time costs for employers based on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases as of December 8, 2021. The assessment includes potential sick leave wages, short-term disability payments, and spending on employee benefits. The states with the highest lost work time costs are California, Texas, and New York. For more up-to-date and granular data by metropolitan area, view the interactive map in the related resources section below. IBI used employment, wage, and leave benefit data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and lost workday experiences contained in its own dataset of employer-sponsored disability claims to model lost work time impacts based on the total US COVID-19 case count. Population data from the US Census Bureau was also incorporated to reflect geographic variation in COVID-19 cases, employment patterns, industry mix, and wages.