Productivity losses associated with allergic rhinitis generally are not a major concern of employers. However, there are a number of reasons why the productivity costs associated with allergic rhinitis may be substantial. OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we estimated absenteeism costs and reduced productivity associated with allergic rhinitis. METHODS: The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was used to obtain information on days lost from work and lost productivity, due to allergic rhinitis. Wage estimates for occupational categories, obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), were used to calculate the economic costs. RESULTS: Productivity losses associated with a primary diagnosis of allergic rhinitis in the 1995 NHIS, were estimated to be $601 million. These costs increased to $733 million when secondary diagnoses of allergic rhinitis were also considered. When additional survey information on the use of sedating over-the-counter allergy medications, as well as workers’ self-assessments of their reduction in at-work productivity due to allergic rhinitis were considered, the productivity cost estimates increased dramatically. At-work productivity losses were estimated to range from $2.4 billion to $4.6 billion using different estimates of on-the-job productivity reductions available from the literature. It should be noted that the most significant productivity losses did not occur through absence related to allergies but, rather, through reduced at-work productivity associated with the use of sedating over-the-counter antihistamines. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the inevitable imprecision in any productivity loss estimate it is important to note that even our lowest estimate is several times higher than previous estimates of the indirect medical costs associated with treating allergic rhinitis.