How many people are still working remotely? It varies by field and age bracket
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact Charlotte’s workforce, with some still working from home while others have returned to offices, at least for some portion of their workweek.
Remote work is trending down across the board, according to federal data, but there are still differences in trends depending on workers’ age and fields. And changes in COVID-19 trends could cause a shift back to teleworking, as they have multiple times during the pandemic.
Here’s what to know about the state of remote work across different industries and demographics:
Note: The data below, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is based on the number of “employed persons who teleworked or worked at home for pay at any time in the last 4 weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Which age groups have the most remote workers?
Some takeaways from the data:
The percentage of total workers working remotely was down to 10% in March. In the early stages of the pandemic, more than 35% of workers 16 or older were teleworking.
The youngest and oldest age brackets in the workforce — those aged 16 to 24 and those 65 or older — have consistently had the lowest rates of teleworking.
Those in the 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 age brackets have tended to have the highest rates of remote work.
Which industries have the most remote workers?
Some takeaways from the data:
The most dramatic shift in trends has happened among those who work in educational services. The field had the highest percentage of teleworkers in May 2020 — 76.3% — but has one of the lowest rates as of March 2022, 9%.
More than 20% of workers in two fields were still teleworking as of March 2022: information and financial activities.
The industries of “front-line workers” — including agriculture, health care and wholesale and retail — have tended to have the lowest rates of remote work throughout the pandemic.
Remote work spiked again across the board slightly in January, when the omicron variant was driving another COVID-19 surge.
Do Charlotte workers want to head back to the office?
Some companies are embracing a “hybrid option” for employees, giving them the choice to work from home for at least part of the workweek.
That can be an appealing option, workers told the Observer in a January survey.
Of those respondents whose employers were giving them a choice, the majority — 72% — said they were still choosing to work from home either full- or part-time. Many of those people — 44% — cited convenience and flexibility as key factors in their choice.
Observer reporter Hannah Lang contributed to the reporting of this story.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 1:02 PM.
