Hours of work Canadians lost due to H1N1 in November 2009 is comparable to Ontario’s 2003 power outage: StatsCan

The impact of H1N1 and seasonal flu on hours lost at work was comparable to that of the Ontario-U.S. power outage in August 2003, StatsCan reported in a recent study, Impact of H1N1 and seasonal flu on hours worked.
In November 2009, 1.5 million employed people aged 15 to 69 reported they were absent from work as a result of the H1N1 or seasonal flu, representing 9% of workers in that age group.
On average, workers absent as a result of H1N1 and seasonal flu lost 19.6 hours of work each, for a total of 29.5 million hours lost. In the same month, 600,000 people in the same age group put in 8.6 million extra hours at work; therefore, the net effect of the H1N1 and seasonal viruses in November 2009 was a loss of 20.9 million hours.
By way of comparison, the 2003 power outage cost 2.4 million workers in Ontario and Quebec a total of 26.4 million hours of work time. Including 7.5 million overtime hours, the net effect was a loss of 18.9 million hours.
As for absenteeism related to H1N1 and seasonal flu, 10.5% of women reported work hours lost in November 2009 — somewhat higher than the proportion of 7.6% among men. However, there was no difference in their average number of hours lost.
The group most affected was workers aged 30 to 44. In November, 11.8% of workers in this age group lost an average of 18.8 hours each.
Provincially, flu-related absenteeism was highest among workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, where 14.2% of workers aged 15 to 69 reported lost hours. The lowest rate was in Quebec (7.6%).
“With respect to occupations, workers in social science, education, government service and religion (12.1%) reported the highest rate of being absent from work due to the flu,” StatsCan reported.
Occupations unique to primary industry reported the lowest rate of absenteeism (5.4%) due to the H1N1 and seasonal flu.