Topline
In a post-pandemic world, almost every state is facing declines in remote job listings as companies nationwide are moving away from work-from home to in-person work, according to ZipRecruiter data, but some states and employers are harder-hit than others—especially federal agencies.
Bourbon St in New Orleans.
Key Facts
Louisiana was one of the only states where remote job postings grew, up 7.2% from January 2023 to June 2023 compared to January 2024 to June 2024, according to ZipRecruiter’s internal data on U.S. jobs.
Massachusetts had the largest decline, at 35.02%.
ZipRecruiter said remote work in most industries is relatively stable—except for federal positions, which have been hit with bipartisan calls for government workers to get back into the office.
Remote job listings remain higher than pre-pandemic levels but have declined from their COVID-era peak, according to ZipRecruiter: Some 11.7% of total U.S. listings were remote from January 2024 to June 2024, about equal to 2023 levels but down from 13.66% in 2022, while still higher than 2021 (11.37%), 2020 (7.99%) and pre-pandemic 2019 (4.25%).
States With The Largest Increases (or Smallest Declines) In Remote Job Postings
- Louisiana: 7.12% from Jan.-June 2023 to Jan.-June 2024.
- Kentucky: 6.11%
- Mississippi: 0.82%
- North Dakota: 0.30%
- South Carolina: -2.58%
States With The Largest Declines In Remote Job Postings
- Massachusetts: -35.02%
- Rhode Island: -32.71%
- Nevada: -29.03%
- D.C.: -29.53%
- Nebraska: -27.04%
Big Number
8%. That’s how many job listings posted in the first quarter of 2024 were fully remote, according to data from management consulting company Robert Half. This is a 3% decline from the fourth quarter of 2023.
Key Background
Remote work boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. workers spent an average of 2.4 days per month working from home in 2019, which grew to 5.8 days in 2020 and dropped to 3.8 days in 2023, according to Gallup. Many big companies have begun shifting back to in-person work post-pandemic, requiring employees to spend at least a few days in the office, including Apple, Amazon, Meta, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. However, some companies have embraced remote work, like Yelp, which announced it would close several locations. President Joe Biden has been calling for a return to in-person work for years, including in the federal government, the nation’s biggest employer. He urged employees to return back to the office during his State of the Union speech in early 2022, the White House instructed federal agencies in April 2023 to increase their in-person work and the White House told Cabinet members in August 2023 that returning to in-person work was “critical” to workplace culture and delivering results.
Surprising Fact
One reason why remote jobs are disappearing is because of the numerous tech layoffs that have affected states like California, and a larger slowdown in tech hiring. A large chunk of tech positions are remote: 85% of post-pandemic tech roles were either fully remote or hybrid, while 48% were completely remote, according to data from Morning Consult. One of California’s most impacted industries is the tech sector, which has seen around 60,000 jobs cut from companies like Tesla, Google, TikTok and Microsoft since the beginning of the year. One reason why remote jobs are disappearing is because of the numerous tech layoffs that have affected states like California, and a larger slowdown in tech hiring. A large chunk of tech positions are remote: 85% of post-pandemic tech roles were either fully remote or hybrid, while 48% were completely remote, according to data from Morning Consult. One of California’s most impacted industries is the tech sector, which has seen around 60,000 jobs cut from companies like Tesla, Google, TikTok and Microsoft since the beginning of the year.