A wave of colds at the beginning of the year caused a high sickness rate in Saxony in the first half of 2025. According to an analysis by health insurer DAK-Gesundheit, the number of days absent due to respiratory illnesses rose by 13 percent compared to the same period last year. The wave of infections subsided from the 2nd quarter onwards.
In total, the sickness rate was 5.6 percent. This is 0.4 percentage points lower than in the first half of 2024. This means that on average, 56 out of 1,000 employees were on sick leave every day from January to June 2025.
The decline in mental illnesses (minus 10 percent) and musculoskeletal disorders (minus 12 percent) contributed to this. The average duration of sick leave per case was 9.5 days, which was less than in the first half of 2024 (10.3 days).
Employees in educational professions, such as employees in daycare centers, had a particularly high number of sick days. They averaged around 13 days per person in the first half of the year. Data from around 51,000 DAK-insured employees in Saxony was evaluated for the analysis of absences.
