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Companies in the Region of Murcia are losing €2.62 million every single day due to staff absenteeism, according to a new report that lays bare the scale of the problem. That adds up to €958 million a year, or 2.29% of the region's entire GDP, making Murcia one of the hardest-hit areas in Spain. Only the Canary Islands and Cantabria fare worse in relative terms.

 

The study, "Labor Regulation and the Labor Market: The Impact of Absenteeism" by the Smart Regulation Forum (FRI), points to more than 50,000 workers missing work on an average day. Sectors like agri-food and industry take the biggest hit, thanks to longer sick leaves and the nature of hands-on jobs. As the report puts it, this creates "a vicious economic cycle": firms scramble for replacements, costs climb, teams get overloaded, and stress builds up, which can spark even more absences.

 

Murcia's main employers' federation Croem has been flagging this for a while. They noted absenteeism here has doubled in six years and already cost €556 million annually back in late 2025.

 

To drive the point home, the authors crunch the numbers on what that cash could do instead. With €958 million, Murcia could build 10 new 200-bed hospitals or 106 schools for 750 pupils each. It's also 607 euros per person or 1,658 euros per household, putting real strain on local families and the economy.

 

Recent national figures back this up. Spain's fiscal watchdog AIReF reports sick leave incidents jumped 60% from 2017 to 2024, with durations up 15%, pushing Social Security spending past €16.5 billion.

 

The Spanish confederation for small and medium businesses Cepyme wants urgent fixes. Their president Angela de Miguel said, "The problem that most worries companies, especially the smallest ones, is absenteeism."

 

Madrid, the Balearics and La Rioja come off lightly by comparison, likely due to more skilled jobs and shorter sick spells. The report warns this is now a "structural phenomenon" in Spain's job market, hitting productivity and public finances hard.

 

 

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