{
  "id": 6562074,
  "title": "For Labor Economy Workers, Sick Days Quickly Become Spending Cuts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/for-labor-economy-workers-sick-days-quickly-become-spending-cuts",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-10T08:01:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PYMNTS",
    "slug": "pymnts",
    "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/consumer-insights/2026/for-labor-economy-workers-sick-days-quickly-become-spending-cuts/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "For approximately 60 million hourly and shift-based workers in the United States, being ill can not only affect health but also income and spending. According to PYMNTS Intelligence's Wage to Wallet Index, 26.6% of Labor Economy workers lost wages due to their own illness or injury in the past year, compared to 15.9% of non-Labor Economy workers. Most losses were under $1,000, but the financial impact can be greater for low-income households.\n\nAvoiding lost pay was the primary reason for working sick among Labor Economy workers, cited by 30.3% of respondents, compared to 16.5% of non-Labor Economy workers. This suggests that presenteeism, working despite illness, is increasingly viewed as a financial decision rather than merely a health choice.\n\nLabor Economy households have fewer resources to rely on when income drops. Only 37.2% reported owning assets to cover unexpected expenses, versus 56.9% of non-Labor Economy workers. Additionally, 24.6% of Labor Economy workers had no retirement savings, compared to 11.1% of the comparison group, indicating a smaller financial cushion to absorb shocks.\n\nWhen faced with an unexpected event, such as lost wages, the impact on consumer behavior is felt more rapidly by Labor Economy households. 43% of these households cut nonessential spending, compared to 35.5% of non-Labor Economy households. They were also more likely to seek additional work or side gigs, but less likely to save extra money.\n\nWhile paid sick leave is one factor, Labor Economy employees also have lower levels of employer-provided health insurance (73.9% vs. 86.6%), paid time off (67.4% vs. 81.1%), and retirement plans (60.3% vs. 74.9%). These benefits act as financial shock absorbers, preventing disruptions from quickly turning into cash flow problems. The gap between a missed shift and a missed purchase remains narrow for millions of workers.",
  "summary": "For roughly 60 million workers in the United States, getting sick is not only a health event. It can be an income event, and, soon afterward, a spending event. PYMNTS Intelligence’s Wage to Wallet Index, a collaboration with WorkWhile, found in August that 26.6% of Labor Economy workers lost employment income because of their own […] The post For Labor Economy Workers, Sick Days Quickly Become…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}