During the first quarter, job absence rates slightly rose, though it remained well below levels recorded before the recession, according to Bloomberg BNA's quarterly survey of job absence and turnover. 

Median rates of unscheduled absence, which exclude long-term absences and partial days out, are at 0.7 percent of scheduled worker days, representing a slight increase from 0.6 percent in the previous quarter as well as the first quarter of 2011. Regardless of the small gain, the first-quarter average is much lower than levels before the economic downturn between 2007 and 2009 when it was 1.5 percent in the first three months of 2006.

According to the survey, the modest overall growth in absenteeism during the first quarter was not remotely uniform or consistent across industry, work force size or regional classifications. Because of this and the fact that absenteeism is still much below levels that were common before the recession, it is too soon to say that employee confidence is strong enough that they are taking off more time.