2018 Telecommuting Statistics and Virtual Vocations Year-End Report

Virtual Vocations shares its 2018 Telecommuting Statistics and Virtual Vocations Year-End Report. This is the fourth annual statistical analysis of the top companies, industries, and locations for remote work. Virtual Vocations also highlights details about company records broken during 2018, national telecommuting statistics, and a profile, based on Virtual Vocations survey data, of a typical U.S. remote jobseeker.

2018 Telecommuting Statistics and Virtual Vocations Year-End Report

Purpose

There is no official government or private bureau or institution that consistently monitors telecommuting statistics and trends. To help fill this gap, Virtual Vocations aggregates and examines key website data annually to illustrate the state of remote work, and has done so since 2015.

“The 2018 Telecommuting Statistics and Virtual Vocations Year-End Report is our fourth such examination of annual telecommuting statistics, trends, and remote job outlooks. We believe in utilizing this data to help us determine how we can best assist our users in their searches for telecommuting and virtual jobs in the year ahead, as well as to provide a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the world of remote work and the current state of telecommuting.”

—Laura Spawn, CEO, Virtual Vocations

Methodology

Our 2018 telecommuting statistics on virtual and remote work were aggregated from the following sources*:

Virtual Vocations internal company data
Virtual Vocations survey data aggregated from thousands of voluntary responses to email surveys of current telecommuters and telecommute jobseekers
Salary data from Glassdoor and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Job industry growth projections from the BLS and the Project Management Institute
National telecommuter data from GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com

*Individual sources from the above-named publications are linked throughout this blog post.

For your convenience and ease of sharing, we have also highlighted key 2018 telecommuting statistics and an overview of our latest year-end report in this Virtual Vocations YouTube video.

Virtual Vocations Company Highlights

2018 was Virtual Vocations’ most successful year to date.

“The key to our success in 2018 is our people. We have an amazing team of remote workers who wake up early every day to help others find that ‘perfect fit’ telecommute job. We are excited to find new jobs to share with our jobseekers because we want everyone to experience the joy and satisfaction that comes from finding a remote job that fits your lifestyle and goals.”

—Shannon Cyr, Database Operations Division Manager, Virtual Vocations

We also expanded our services offerings, adding resume writing, LinkedIn profile makeovers, and cover letters to our Career Services options.

“In Career Services, we have continued to grow our staff of trained and certified writers and coaches who are busy creating career marketing documents for clients in every industry.”

—Holly Leyva, Customer and Career Services Division Manager, Virtual Vocations

Throughout the year, we posted more telecommute jobs, vetted more remote-friendly employers, and broke many company records, including the following:

More than 1 million potential telecommute job postings screened
240,977 telecommute jobs added to the Virtual Vocations job board
More than 25,000 customer service inquiries fielded concerning Virtual Vocations services and remote work
6,192 new companies vetted
4,550 new telecommute-friendly companies added to frequent searching, and more than 8,200 total companies actively searched for new remote jobs
143 new Virtual Vocations Employer Partners that directly posted telecommute job vacancies with us through our free Employer Partner Program
50% increase in jobs added to the job board when compared to 2017

U.S. & Global Remote Work Stats

Telecommuters are the fastest growing working population in the U.S.

GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com, a research-focused consulting organization that tracks data and trends on telecommuting and agile work, also found that as of 2018, over 20% of the workforce telecommutes at least partially, and about 50% of all workers have jobs that are telecommute-compatible.

Since the number of employers offering flexible arrangements has been increasing at a rapid rate (up 40% from 2011 to 2016), we can expect even more companies around the world to embrace the remote workforce and offer telecommute options to current and future employees.

Telecommuter Profile

The average remote worker is at least 40 years old with a bachelor’s degree and over five years of telecommuting experience. Most Virtual Vocations members live within the U.S., especially in top telecommute-friendly states like California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Georgia. They also primarily work within the following industries:

Information technology
Writing and editing
Education
Customer service
Healthcare

Irrespective of age, location, and occupation, our members typically choose a remote career path to:

Have more schedule and travel flexibility
Take care of children or a family member in their own homes
Save money and time
Accommodate health or mobility concerns

Top 10 Telecommute-Friendly Companies

The remote employers featured in this list represent the businesses and organizations with the most telecommute job openings featured in the Virtual Vocations job board during 2018. Are you interested in more 2018 telecommuting statistics related to the best companies for remote work? Read our report on the Top 100 Telecommute Companies for 2019.

10. Syneos Health

Syneos Health helps biopharmaceutical and medical device companies develop, commercialize, and promote products and healthcare services. Though many roles require some travel to client sites and team offices, Syneos offers telecommute options so that staff can work at home or on the road.