FlexJobs Analyzes the State of the Remote Job Marketplace

BOULDER, Colo. (PRWEB) March 28, 2018

"Remote/work from home" was the 4th most popular job search term in 2017 and hiring managers predict in the next 10 years that more than one third of their employees will work remotely. Last year, thousands of companies--including plenty of big-name companies such as Amazon, Dell, Cigna, Salesforce, Philips, and Nielsen--actively recruited more remote workers to join their workforces. With the national and global interest in remote work rising, FlexJobs has released key statistics surrounding the growth and opportunities available in today’s remote job marketplace.

“As FlexJobs’ annual list of the Top 100 companies hiring for remote jobs demonstrates, remote work is embraced across a variety of industries among companies of all sizes,” said Sara Sutton Fell, Founder and CEO of FlexJobs. “Working remotely has become increasingly more mainstream as businesses appreciate how it can help attract and retain top talent, which is especially important in a tight labor market, and job seekers definitely have broadly expressed their interest in having more remote work options. FlexJobs’ guide on “How to Find a Remote Job and Start Working From Home,” offers more details about the remote job marketplace from the job seeker perspective, including practical tips, tools, and information detailing how to successfully transition to a remote career,” Sutton Fell concluded.

The sections below detail the growth of remote work in the United States, the demographics of the typical telecommuter, the most popular and fast-growing career for remote jobs, and the business benefits of remote work.

Remote Work Growth:

• 3.9 million U.S. employees, or 2.9% of the total U.S. workforce, currently work from home at least half of the time, up from 1.8 million in 2005 (a 115% increase since 2005).
• Remote job listings at FlexJobs has increased 51% between 2014-2017
• As of 2017, 43% of U.S. workers now work remotely at least occasionally, up from only 9% of workers in 2007.
• In more than half of the top U.S. metro areas telecommuting exceeds public transportation as the commute option of choice. It has grown far faster than any other commute mode.
• It is predicted that 38% of full-time staff will be working remotely in the next decade.
• Reasons for increased remote staff include shortage of talent; greater interest among workers in pursuing flexible work arrangements; emerging technologies; increased globalization.

About Remote Workers:

• The average telecommuter is 46 years of age or older, has at least a bachelor’s degree, and earns a higher median salary than an in-office worker.
• Roughly the same population of women and men telecommute.
• Telecommuting is more common among employees over 35 years of age and most common among Baby Boomers.
• 100% telecommuting is the most preferred type of work flexibility among flexible job seekers.
• Work-life balance, family, time savings, and commute stress are the top four reported reasons people seek flexible work.
• Remote workers span across career levels, educational backgrounds, and generations.
• Various groups identify as remote workers, including: working parents, freelancers, introverts, entrepreneurs, people living in rural areas, stay-at-home parents, people with chronic illness, digital nomads, caregivers, students, retirees, environmentalists, military spouses, and more.

About the Remote Job Marketplace:

• About 3.5% of all telecommute jobs are work-from-anywhere jobs. The rest require the remote worker be based in a specific location, such as city, state, or country.
• There are approximately 60 scams for every 1 legitimate work-from-home job when job searching online.
• The top 7 career fields with the most remote jobs: Medical and Health, Computer and IT, Education and Training, Sales, Customer Service, Accounting and Finance, Travel and Hospitality
• Some of the fast-growing fields for remote jobs: Therapy, Virtual Administration, Client Services, Tutoring, State and Local Government
• Most common remote job titles include: account executive, accountant, business\development manager, consultant, engineer, project manager, teacher, tutor writer.

Business Benefits of Remote Work:

• The business benefits of remote work for companies are numerous: Remote work can increase worker productivity, drive employee efficiency, boost morale, reduce employee turnover, decrease real estate costs and overhead, lead to greater employee engagement, increase your talent pool, and positively impact the environment.
• Companies with majority-remote teams have a higher percentage of women in CEO/founder roles than traditional office-based companies.

For more information please visit https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/state-of-the-remote-job-marketplace/ or contact Kathy Gardner at kgardner@flexjobs.com.

About FlexJobs

FlexJobs is committed to helping people find a better way to work. As the leading online service for professionals seeking remote, flexible schedule, part-time, and freelance jobs, FlexJobs offers opportunities in over 50 career categories, ranging from entry-level to executive and freelance to full-time. FlexJobs also sets itself apart by providing job seekers with a better, safer, and more efficient way to find professional and legitimate flexible jobs. Having helped over three million people in their job searches, FlexJobs has appeared in CNN, CNBC, TIME, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and hundreds of other trusted media outlets. To further assist people in bettering their lives through flexible and remote work, FlexJobs' Founder & CEO Sara Sutton Fell has also launched two additional partner sites, Remote.co and 1 Million for Work Flexibility, to help provide education and awareness about the viability and benefits of remote working and work flexibility. Sutton Fell is also the creator of The TRaD* Works Forum (*Telecommuting, Remote, & Distributed), dedicated to helping companies leverage the benefits of telecommuting, remote and distributed teams.