Norwegians Are Calling in Sick at Highest Rate in 15 Years

More Norwegians called in sick from work in the second quarter than at any other time in the past 15 years in what may pose a risk to the labor market and funding the welfare state.

The seasonally adjusted sickness absence rate rose to 7.1% in the second quarter, the most since 2009 when it was driven by a wave of swine flu, Statistics Norway said in a statement on Thursday. That’s higher than at any point during the height of the Covid pandemic, and the increase was seen across all industries.