Remote job statistics 2026

How many people work remotely in the US?

The answer depends on the denominator. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts everyone at work in a given week; Gallup counts only people whose jobs could be done remotely; WFH Research counts workdays rather than workers. All three have been close to flat since 2023.

Statistics

• In 2025, 22.4% of people at work in the US teleworked or worked at home for pay during the survey reference week: 35.4 million of 157.7 million (annual average). BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• Of everyone at work in 2025, 11.9% teleworked for some of their hours and 10.5% teleworked for all of their hours. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• The monthly telework rate was 22.6% in March 2026 and stayed between 21.5% and 23.0% over the preceding year. BLS, Apr 16, 2026[12]

• The BLS series started at 17.9% in October 2022 and reached its high so far, 23.8%, in October 2024. BLS, Apr 16, 2026[12]

• In the first quarter of 2024 the telework rate averaged 22.9%, up 3.3 points from 19.6% a year earlier. BLS, 2024[13]

• Full-time workers teleworked at a higher rate (23.8%) than part-time workers (15.6%) in 2025. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• Self-employed workers had a 36.4% telework rate in 2025, compared with 21.6% for private-industry wage and salary workers. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• BLS time-diary data show 35% of employed people did some or all of their work at home on days they worked in 2025, while 70% did some or all of it at a workplace. BLS, Jun 25, 2026[14]

• About 26% of paid full workdays in the US were worked from home in September 2026, according to the Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes. WFH Research, Oct 5, 2026[3]

• Across the October 2025 to September 2026 SWAA waves, 12% of full-time wage and salary employees were fully remote, 26% hybrid and 62% fully on site (N = 38,070). WFH Research, Oct 5, 2026[3]

• Among US adults whose jobs can be done from home, 75% worked remotely at least some of the time (Pew survey of 2,315 workers, October 2024). Pew Research Center, Jan 13, 2025[6]

• Pew estimated in 2023 that 61% of US workers do not have jobs that can be done from home. Older data Pew Research Center, Mar 30, 2023[15]

• Federal government workers’ telework rate fell to 18.2% in April 2025 from 31.3% a year earlier. BLS, 2025[16]

• Federal workers teleworked 4.8 hours a week on average in April 2025 (12.1% of their hours), down from 8.2 hours a year earlier. BLS, 2025[16]

• Of telework requests made by wage and salary workers, 69.2% were fully granted, 21.6% partially granted and 9.2% not granted. BLS, Jan 2, 2026[17]

Hybrid vs fully remote: how remote-capable employees work

Among people whose jobs can be done away from the office, hybrid has been the majority arrangement since mid-2022. What employees say they want still runs ahead of what they get, mostly on fully remote work.

Statistics

• As of August 2026, 54% of US employees with remote-capable jobs worked hybrid, 25% exclusively remote and 21% on-site. Gallup, Data to Aug 2026[2]

• In January 2019, the same group was 60% on-site, 32% hybrid and 8% exclusively remote. Gallup, Data to Aug 2026[2]

• Exclusively remote work peaked at 70% of remote-capable employees in May 2020. Gallup, Data to Aug 2026[2]

• Every Gallup reading of the hybrid share since June 2022 has fallen between 49% and 55%. Gallup, Data to Aug 2026[2]

• Asked in November 2025, 61% of remote-capable employees preferred hybrid, 33% exclusively remote and 6% on-site. Gallup, Data to Aug 2026[2]

• Long-term expectations recorded in May 2026: 52% hybrid, 25% exclusively remote and 23% on-site. Gallup, Data to Aug 2026[2]

• Only 11% of employees are on teams that set their hybrid policy together; 90% of them call the policy fair. Gallup, Data to Aug 2026[2]

• In the technology sector, 47% of remote-capable employees are exclusively remote, 45% hybrid and 9% fully on-site. Gallup, 2026[18]

• Hybrid work among remote-capable federal employees fell from 61% to 28% in 2025 after most federal remote work ended. Gallup, 2026[18]

• In early 2023, 35% of US workers with teleworkable jobs worked from home all the time, down from 43% in January 2022 and 55% in October 2020, versus 7% before the pandemic. Older data Pew Research Center, Mar 30, 2023[15]

• Among hybrid workers, only 24% would work from home all the time if they could choose; 72% would keep a hybrid arrangement. Pew Research Center, Jan 13, 2025[6]

• Of teleworkable workers who aren’t fully remote, 75% say their employer now requires a set number of in-person days, up from 63% in early 2023. Pew Research Center, Jan 13, 2025[6]

Remote job postings and hiring

Job ads show what employers are offering new hires, which can diverge from how existing staff work. Indeed’s broad index has been steady; Robert Half’s professional-job sample swung sharply toward on-site roles in 2026. Applicants still pile into the remote listings that exist.

Statistics

• On September 30, 2026, 8.6% of US job postings on Indeed mentioned remote or hybrid work (seven-day trailing average). Indeed Hiring Lab, Oct 2026[4]

• That share averaged 2.6% in 2019 and peaked at 10.5% on February 26, 2022. Our calculation Indeed Hiring Lab, Oct 2026[4]

• Annual averages of Indeed’s US remote/hybrid share: 9.9% in 2022, 8.7% in 2023, 8.2% in 2024, 8.2% in 2025 and 8.7% for January to September 2026. Our calculation Indeed Hiring Lab, Oct 2026[4]

• Of the seven countries in Indeed’s tracker, the US had the lowest remote/hybrid posting share on September 30, 2026 (8.6%), against 16.8% in Ireland and 15.9% in the UK. Indeed Hiring Lab, Oct 2026[4]

• On the same day, 7.9% of US job searches on Indeed included remote or hybrid terms. Indeed Hiring Lab, Oct 2026[4]

• Insurance postings were the most likely US category to mention remote or hybrid work (36.2%); driving and dental postings were the least likely (1.2% each). Indeed Hiring Lab, Oct 2026[4]

• 30.4% of US software development postings on Indeed mentioned remote or hybrid work on September 30, 2026. Indeed Hiring Lab, Oct 2026[4]

• In the UK, 16.9% of Indeed postings mentioned remote or hybrid working at the end of June 2026, close to the series peak. Indeed Hiring Lab, Aug 3, 2026[23]

• Of the US professional job postings Robert Half analysed in Q2 2026, 87% were fully on-site, 10% hybrid and 3% fully remote. Robert Half, 2026[5]

• Fully in-office roles rose from 65% of Robert Half’s sample in Q4 2025 to 87% in Q2 2026. Robert Half, 2026[24]

• A year earlier, in Q3 2025, Robert Half’s split was 64% on-site, 24% hybrid and 12% fully remote. Robert Half, 2026[5]

• By field in Q2 2026: marketing and creative postings were 14% hybrid and 4% remote; technology 11% and 4%; administrative and customer support 5% and 2%. Robert Half, 2026[24]

• In Boston, fully remote postings fell from 8% to 2% and hybrid postings from 33% to 14% between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026. The Boston Globe, Sep 23, 2026[25]

• In December 2023, fully remote jobs were 10% of US LinkedIn postings but received 46% of applications. Fortune, Jan 29, 2024[21]

• By our calculation, that means a remote listing drew about 4.6 times its share of applications. Our calculation Fortune, Jan 29, 2024[21]

• US remote job postings on LinkedIn fell 9% between January 2022 and December 2023. Fortune, Jan 29, 2024[21]

• LinkedIn’s head of economics for the Americas said in late 2024 that remote and hybrid roles made up about 20% of positions but drew about 60% of applications. PropertyCasualty360, Dec 20, 2024[22]

• In January 2020, remote jobs were 2.2% of LinkedIn’s US paid postings and drew 2.9% of applications. Older data LinkedIn Economic Graph, Oct 2022[19]

• In February 2022, fully remote roles were 20% of US LinkedIn listings and drew 50% of applications; the UK was 9% and 20%, Germany 9% and 22%, India 10% and 21%. Older data ITPro, 2022[20]

• In August 2023, 53.9% of job applications from LinkedIn members with disabilities went to remote roles, versus 45.6% for members without disabilities. Older data LinkedIn Economic Graph, 2023[26]

• Reports of job and employment-agency scams to the FTC tripled from 2020 to 2024, and reported losses rose from $90 million to $501 million. FTC, Mar 10, 2025[27]

Which jobs and industries are most remote?

Occupation explains most of who teleworks. Computer, business, legal and media roles lead; jobs built around a physical place or customer barely register.

Statistics

• 65.4% of workers in computer and mathematical occupations teleworked in 2025, and 36.1% did so for all of their hours. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• Business and financial operations occupations had a 55.9% telework rate in 2025; legal occupations 52.7%. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations: 46.8% teleworked, including 24.8% for all of their hours. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• Management, professional and related occupations teleworked at 37.2% in 2025, against 5.7% for service occupations. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• Food preparation and serving had a 1.5% telework rate in 2025 and transportation and material moving 1.9%. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations teleworked at 13.1%; education, training and library occupations at 15.0%. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• By detailed industry, finance and insurance (58.9%) and professional and technical services (58.4%) had the highest telework rates in 2025. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• Accommodation and food services had a 4.0% telework rate in 2025; transportation and warehousing 8.0%. BLS, Feb 20, 2026[1]

• In June 2026, telework rates were highest in financial activities (52.5%), information (47.2%) and professional and business services (41.8%); leisure and hospitality was 7.7%. BLS, Jul 29, 2026[28]

• Private wage and salary workers teleworked 5.7 hours of their work week on average in April 2025, or 15.0% of their hours. BLS, 2025[16]

Who works remotely: age, gender, race and education

Education is the sharpest divide in remote work, followed by age. Women telework more than men in every BLS month since the series began.

Statistics

• Women had a 25.0% telework rate in 2025, compared with 20.2% for men. BLS, 2026[29]

• Women aged 35 to 44 teleworked at 30.3% in 2025, the highest rate of any sex and age group BLS reports. BLS, 2026[29]

• Workers aged 16 to 24 had a 6.8% telework rate in 2025, against 26.7% for those aged 35 to 44. BLS, 2026[29]

• Workers 65 and older were the most likely age group to telework all of their hours (14.0%). BLS, 2026[29]

• Asian workers had a 31.6% telework rate in 2025; White workers 22.8%, Black workers 16.2% and Hispanic or Latino workers 12.3%. BLS, 2026[29]

• Among workers 25 and older, 42.1% of those with an advanced degree teleworked in 2025, compared with 3.9% of those without a high school diploma. BLS, 2026[29]

• Workers with their own children under 18 teleworked at 26.3% in 2025, versus 20.7% for those without. BLS, 2026[29]

• Workers with a disability teleworked at 23.4% in 2025 (12.8% for all of their hours), versus 22.4% (10.4%) for those without. BLS, 2026[29]

• Foreign-born workers had an 18.5% telework rate in 2025, compared with 23.4% for native-born workers. BLS, 2026[29]

• Married workers with a spouse present teleworked at 27.4%, against 15.8% for workers who had never married. BLS, 2026[29]

• In March 2026, 24.9% of employed women teleworked, compared with 20.5% of employed men. BLS, Apr 16, 2026[12]

• 51% of employed people with a bachelor’s degree or higher did some work at home on days they worked in 2025, versus 19% of those with a high school diploma and no college. BLS, Jun 25, 2026[14]

• Workers with graduate degrees worked 33.0% of their full paid days from home in 2026 (partial year), down from 59.0% in 2020; for workers with a high school diploma or less it was 19.2%. WFH Research, Oct 5, 2026[3]

Remote work by US state

BLS publishes an annual telework rate for every state. The 2025 figures are 11-month averages because October 2025 was not collected during the federal shutdown.