Time Tracking
Workplace Attendance Policy Benchmarks for 2024
The national employee absence rate is 3.1% of scheduled workdays (BLS, 2023), and 89% of employers with 50 or more employees maintain a written attendance policy (ADP, 2023). Across five measurement categories, these 18 benchmarks give HR and operations leaders the specific numbers they need to set defensible thresholds and evaluate their own attendance programs. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software compiled this catalog as a quantitative reference for organizations running shift-based and hourly operations in construction, manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, and staffing.
Headline Numbers
National absence rate sits at 3.1% of scheduled workdays
Private-sector employers average 2.9%, while state and local government employers average 4.0%, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023).
89% of employers with 50+ employees have a written attendance policy
That figure drops to 79% for employers with 50 to 99 employees, per the ADP HR Benchmarking Report (2023), leaving meaningful compliance gaps at smaller organizations.