Analysts at the National Business Group onHealth say the recession may have actually curbed the number ofshort and long-term disability claims. But while STD costs fell,long-term disability costs jumped 25 percent.

"When the recession began, many employers anticipated theirshort-term disability claims would increase. When employees experienceanxiety regarding impending workforce reductions, their subsequentbehavior often causes employers to feel the impact in their benefitplans," said Helen Darling, President and CEO of the NationalBusiness Group on Health, in a statement. "However, this recessionappears to have caused a somewhat opposite effect, with decreasesin claims in 2009. The collapse of the housing marketing and theunemployment picture may have caused employees to delay taking timeoff from work, especially for elective medical procedures."

The Employer Measure of Productivity, Absence and Quality(EMPAQ) annual survey found that the incidence for short-termdisability (STD) claims declined 17.3 percent from 8.1 claims per100 covered employees in 2008 to 6.7 claims per 100 coveredemployees in 2009.