Table 2

Distribution of sickness absence by sociodemographic variables, occupational factors, economic sector, and country in a sample of workers (n = 13957) from the Third European Survey on Working Conditions (2000)

Variables	Permanent						Non-permanent
	Men			Women			Men			Women
	Number	%	Rate*	Number	%	Rate*	Number	%	Rate*	Number	%	Rate*
*Rate, work related sickness absence days per 100 person years. †Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community. Figures are rounded to the nearest point.
Sociodemographic variables
Age (y) (15–24)	84	17	357	70	17	355	21	16	200	12	9	130
25–34	305	16	351	209	13	322	28	14	261	34	15	422
35–44	399	18	491	282	15	386	23	20	355	23	14	351
45–54	298	17	456	216	15	404	13	19	669	13	14	262
55+	106	16	432	71	15	454	6	13	509	5	13	367
Household chores (Yes)	374	20	494	739	15	375	32	19	429	71	15	302
Marital status (Living alone)	349	18	422	281	16	339	41	16	377	33	12	307
Children at home (Yes)	513	17	451	377	14	344	32	17	368	39	14	324
Occupational risk factors
Noise too loud (Yes)	628	24	591	264	24	625	51	24	578	35	23	448
Vibrations (Yes)	513	24	599	131	24	619	43	24	609	15	20	318
Vapours and fumes (Yes)	527	26	697	185	23	680	41	25	534	14	15	253
Extreme temperatures (Yes)	286	29	736	92	29	969	29	29	820	6	18	131
Loads (Yes)	659	25	692	366	22	620	59	23	574	52	25	582
Company size (1–9 workers)	241	16	366	207	12	300	34	19	215	23	10	194
10–499 workers	735	17	441	524	16	392	46	16	332	55	16	351
500 + workers	191	19	498	94	17	513	6	9	581	5	14	694
Economic sector (NACE)†
Agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing	25	19	278	8	17	242	2	15	167	3	18	495
Mining, quarrying, and manufacturing	338	19	476	122	16	328	10	11	330	7	13	499
Electricity, gas, and water supply	12	11	254	4	22	1123	2	25	252	–	–	–
Construction	178	24	647	6	7	69	28	32	601	–	–	–
Wholesales and retail trade, repairs	111	13	367	105	11	316	11	16	277	13	15	366
Hotels and restaurants	27	15	304	52	20	372	1	3	27	4	10	54
Transportation and communication	141	19	465	44	20	762	6	15	78	4	22	662
Financial intermediation	30	12	217	24	10	156	–	–	–	1	7	72
Real state and business	57	13	348	43	13	389	2	6	24	6	14	137
Public administration	108	16	385	59	13	336	6	13	236	5	12	557
Other services	158	17	364	373	15	424	21	16	384	44	14	300
Country
Belgium	85	15	505	64	17	445	7	22	379	4	14	799
Denmark	63	12	234	63	12	258	9	26	282	4	12	148
Germany	133	23	443	74	16	271	5	16	154	9	26	445
Greece	19	8	79	6	4	248	6	23	674	1	5	10
Italy	64	12	210	24	7	156	2	7	86	2	5	426
Spain	75	15	359	20	10	177	16	17	403	8	12	156
France	98	18	578	65	15	386	9	16	323	5	10	290
Ireland	51	11	195	35	9	138	1	3	11	3	6	110
Luxembourg	62	25	754	21	15	307	3	38	115	–	–	–
Netherlands	121	23	651	107	22	885	6	29	2031	4	11	583
Portugal	56	14	545	45	11	357	4	11	95	7	10	422
United Kingdom	67	15	245	41	10	203	6	11	216	4	10	67
Finland	100	25	629	117	28	636	8	23	349	14	20	328
Sweden	90	18	529	103	19	599	5	19	151	18	34	354
Austria	108	21	484	63	12	256	4	13	302	4	11	524