Objective: Indirect costs due to lost productivity account for an estimated one-third of the total economic burden associated with diabetes. Little is known about the relative contributions of type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) to indirect costs. This study quantifies and compares the amount of work loss incurred by individuals with T1DM and T2DM. Methods: Productivity data (Thomson MarketScan) from a database of the commercially-insured was used to identify individuals for analysis. Patients with diabetes in the pre-period with at least two claims for an antidiabetic drug in 2005 and 24 months of continuous enrollment were selected. Control groups of persons without diabetes were selected using propensity score matching. Total number of days lost due to paid absence and short-term disability (STD), conditional upon work loss, were evaluated. Associated costs were estimated using an average hourly wage and benefit rate of $30.00. Results: A total of 877 patients with T1DM and 7033 patients with T2DM were identified. Patients with T1DM who incurred work loss missed an average of 25.4 days due to absence and 45.6 days due to STD, valued at $6108 and $7659, respectively. Patients with T2DM with work loss missed an average of 29.7 days due to absence and 46.5 days due to STD, valued at $7136 and $7812, respectively. Patients with T1DM missed significantly more days due to STD than did their matched controls (45.6 vs. 37.5 days) (p<0.0001); patients with T2DM had significantly more absence days than their matched controls 29.7 vs. 27.7 days) (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Patients with T2DM incurred more work loss than patients with T1DM. Patients with T1DM incurred more work loss due to STD, but not to paid absence, than did their non-diabetic controls, while patients with T2DM had more work loss due to paid absence, but not STD, than did their matched controls.