Share of Remote Workers Increases Despite Drop in Weekly Teleworked Hours

The total share of workers teleworking or working from home for pay has increased from 2023, according to the latest Telework or Work at Home for Pay Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In June 2023, 19% of the labor force teleworked on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. This share rose to 22.3% in June 2024, even though the total number of workers remained stable. However, the average weekly hours of remote work among teleworkers decreased slightly by 1.7 hours, from 28.7 to 27 hours a week. This decline is due to a shift toward hybrid work, with the proportion of people working all their hours remotely dropping from 53.2% to 48.4%.

Across all occupations, the share of teleworkers has increased, while the average weekly telework hours have declined. Management, professional, and related occupations had the highest share of teleworkers, with 37.8% working remotely in June, averaging 27.1 hours per week. In contrast, natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations had the lowest share, with only 3.0% teleworking for an average of 21.4 hours a week.

By industry, financial activities saw the largest increase in teleworkers, rising by 7.5 percentage points from 44.9% in June 2023 to 52.4% in June 2024. Meanwhile, the average weekly telework hours for this industry decreased modestly from 30.4 hours to 28.8 hours. The information industry, previously the leader in telework, increased by 3.8 percentage points, from 47.8% to 51.6%. Its average weekly telework hours declined by 1.1 hours, from 31.4 to 30.3 hours.

The increase in teleworking has significant implications for the housing and real estate market. With more people working from home, there may be a growing demand to remodel their current homes to have dedicated office spaces. Additionally, commercial real estate could face challenges as businesses reconsider their office space needs, potentially leading to an increase in flexible workspaces or a reevaluation of leasing strategies.

There are also policy proposals that NAHB supports which aim to repurpose underused commercial spaces into residential real estate, such as the “Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act” that proposes a 20% tax credit to encourage converting vacant commercial properties into affordable housing, thereby addressing the nationwide housing shortage.