According to the US Census, women, already the majority of home-based workers in 2019, increased to a slightly larger share of a growing home-based U.S. workforce in 2021, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Working from home was among the safety measures adopted during the COVID-19 public health emergency (which has since been lifted) to reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus.
As a result, the percentage of home-based workers in the United States tripled from 5.7% of all workers in 2019 to 17.9% in 2021 — an increase of nearly 19 million workers, according to American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year data.
This shift has had social and economic impacts including on caregiving roles, actual or perceived workplace productivity, professional advancement opportunities and commuting burden.
In 2021, the majority (52.8%) of workers were men but women made up the majority (51.4%) of home-based workers.
