The absentee rate among teachers is the highest in all employment sectors, at 4.9%, but civil servants take off more days through illness, the national statistics office CBS said on Friday.

Health service workers and civil servants are just behind teachers in the ranking, which is based on figures from the second quarter of this year.

The absenteesim rate is calculated by dividing the total number of days off by working days and includes long-term sick leave and maternity leave.

People who work in bars, cafes and the hospitality industry have the lowest absenteeism rate at just 2%. The Dutch average is 3.7%.

Figures from 2014 show 43% of people had at least one day off work sick in 2014. The average number of sick days was six but civil servants topped the list with 8.5. Teachers stayed of work an average of 6.6 days.

Three quarters of the days off were caused by actual illness, with flu leading the way. A quarter of sick leave days were work-related, the CBS said.