Absenteeism in the French private sector reaches 4.95% in 2024, according to WTW

The exception has become the norm. Since the coronavirus epidemic, a “new standard” has been established in the relationship of the French to work. This is the finding of the barometer of the insurance brokerage company WTW (established from a panel of 3,100 companies observed over six years and employing 427,800 people in full-time equivalent in 2025), revealed by Le Figaro. Last year, absenteeism in the private sector reached 4.95%, which means that on average, the French worker is absent nearly 5% of the time stipulated in their employment contract over an entire year. A figure up compared to 2024 and 2023, without however beating the record for 2022 (5.34%). In the public sector, absenteeism remains approximately equivalent (5% in 2024). High rates which hide strong disparities between workers, and which the government wants to tackle by seeking to reduce both the cost and the number of work stoppages.

“This increase…