The United States is experiencing one of the worst flu seasons in a decade, and with employers likely on the hook for billions in direct and indirect costs, the flu could send chills through an already-hobbling economy.
The virus has been reported in 41 states — with 29 reporting high or “severe” levels, The Wall Street Journal reported, and peak flu season, which runs through February, is just beginning.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that an average seasonal flu outbreak has direct costs to employers of $10.4 billion, according to Fox Business Network, and the indirect costs, such as lost productivity, makes that cost much higher.
Editor's Note: Economist Warns: ‘Money From Heaven a Path to Hell.’ See Evidence.
This year, the cost to businesses may be significantly higher in light of the increased number of cases, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas warned.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that for the six years studied, sickness-related absences were 32 percent higher during the flu season than were absences during the rest of the year, according to The Journal.
There are also concerns that the number cases may be unnecessarily high as sick people worried about job security force themselves to go to work, thereby infecting others.
While companies are already struggling to recover from the Great Recession, they face a “major road block — a multi-billion dollar one — in the first eight weeks of 2013,” Fox Business Network stated.
Editor's Note: Economist Warns: ‘Money From Heaven a Path to Hell.’ See Evidence.
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