Virtual Vocations shares its 2021 Year-End Report and Remote Jobs Statistics. This is the company’s seventh annual statistical analysis of the top industries, states, cities, and companies hiring for work from home and remote jobs.
The report also contains details about company records broken in 2021, an overview of Virtual Vocations job board growth since 2015, an updated profile of what it’s like to be a remote jobseeker and remote worker in the 2020s—as determined by multiple Virtual Vocations surveys—including how career confidence affects remote workers and remote jobseekers as well as how working parents have faired amid the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 Remote Jobs Statistics Summary
The Virtual Vocations team and our Employer Partners added more than 594,500 total remote job postings to the Virtual Vocations database throughout the year, a company record. Since Virtual Vocations began reporting on its annual data in 2015, the Virtual Vocations job board has seen 485% growth in total remote job openings added annually. From 2020 to 2021, Virtual Vocations’ job board experienced 29% growth in total jobs added.
For further comparative analysis, previous Virtual Vocations year-end and telecommuting statistical reports can be found on the following pages:
Key 2021 Year-End Report Findings
- Virtual Vocations shared remote job postings from more than 13,900 companies.
- The majority of remote jobs posted to the database were for 100% remote roles requiring no on-site work or travel.
- Forty-three times as many remote job openings were available for experienced jobseekers compared to openings for entry-level workers.
- There were 36 times as many fully virtual jobs available compared to those categorized as ‘partially remote.’
- Full-time remote jobs were 12 times as prevalent as part-time remote jobs.
- The availability of permanent remote positions more than doubled those for telecommuting independent contractors.
A Portrait of a Remote Worker in 2021
Virtual Vocations regularly surveys remote workers and remote jobseekers to learn more about their professional interests and habits as well as how remote work impacts their lifestyles on both professional and personal levels. Throughout 2021, we surveyed more than 1,400 remote workers and remote jobseekers about career confidence and the impact of COVID-19 on working parents’ lives.
Career Confidence and Remote Work
Our 2021 Career Confidence Survey was developed as a component of our annual Remote Work Week campaign celebrating virtual employment and the flexibility it provides professionals who want to take more control over their lives and work. The survey was open to all Virtual Vocations members. Over a six-day period we received 1,158 survey responses from adults either currently working from home, actively searching for remote jobs, or at least interested in telecommuting opportunities and flexible employment.
Key Career Confidence Survey Findings
- 67% said that cold calling or networking for potential job openings is the job search activity they are most insecure about performing.
- 65% reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has given them more courage to pursue a remote job.
- Only 61% would feel confident reporting workplace harassment, abuse, or mistreatment they experienced or witnessed.
- 42% said that the biggest downside to low career confidence is the prospect of staying too long in the wrong job.
- 40% are much less confident now in their job security when compared to their feelings prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 36% would receive an immediate boost in workplace confidence if they had the ability to work from home more often or have a flexible schedule.
- 31% said the biggest workplace confidence killer is a micromanager boss.
- 15% would never feel comfortable enough to ask their boss for a raise.
- Only 8% claimed the coronavirus outbreak made them realize they miss going to work on-site.
Parent Perspectives and Remote Work
As part of our sixth annual National Work and Family Month celebration, Virtual Vocations surveyed more than 250 parents interested in new remote job options. We wanted to learn more about what parents want from their job searches and, ultimately, their work-at-home careers.
Key Parent Survey Findings
- Most U.S. working parents, who are either out-of-work and interested in remote jobs or employed but desirous of a new job to give them flexibility, are Millennial women looking for full-time and permanent remote jobs.
- One-third of all unemployed parents (34%) exited the workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the primary reason parents cited as to why they are unemployed. Aside from the coronavirus pandemic affecting employment situations, the second-most cited reason parents left the workforce (14%) was due to insufficient opportunities to use their skills and/or education.
- For employed parents who would prefer a different job, the number one reason (22%) they want a new job is so that they can work from home, even ahead of needing increased wages/better benefits (17%).
- Out-of-work parents also cited the COVID-19 pandemic (33%) as the top reason they want to work remotely; the pandemic showed them how quickly employment situations can change, and they want more job security via remote job opportunities. Among employed parents looking for a new job, 44% said the pandemic is the main reason they want to work remotely.
CEO’s Statement on the 2021 Year-End Report and Remote Jobs Statistics
“Remote work remained entrenched in workforce conversations throughout 2021. More U.S. workers than ever before quit their jobs to pursue better opportunities and flexible employment options for themselves and their families. And with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to disrupt everyday normalcy for millions, both at home and at work, remote job options continued to be a staple of both employee lifestyles and emerging remote-first business practices.
The demand for highly flexible and fully virtual remote jobs has been so strong that we have revised our job postings standards to better accommodate what remote jobseekers want from their lives and work, as well as which jobs remote-enabled companies are filling in the new year. In continuing our 2021 pledge to job posting quality, as of February 1, 2022, all remote job openings shared to the Virtual Vocations database will be 100% remote with no field-travel required.”
Remote jobseekers want to choose how and when they work, and they’re willing to leave their jobs to find it. If they do, or when workers are ready to explore remote job options, Virtual Vocations will be there.”
Laura Spawn, Virtual Vocations CEO & Co-Founder
Top 10 Industries for Remote Jobs in 2021
The Virtual Vocations job board boasts more than 40 categories of remote jobs. Categories range from expected telework career fields like information technology and customer service to less obvious telecommute-friendly industries like case management and business operations.
Key 2021 Industries Stats
- From 2020 to 2021, the top three industries for remote jobs remained the same: Information Technology, Healthcare, and Sales.
- Education dropped from the fourth-best to the ninth-best industry for remote jobs, reflecting nationwide public and private school hiring challenges.
- Human Services and Account Management fell out of the top 10, replaced by Human Resources and Management.
- Financial, Customer Service, Marketing, and Project Management all remained in the top 10.
1
Information Technology
Information Technology Remote Jobs Examples
2
Healthcare
Healthcare Remote Jobs Examples
3
Sales
Sales Remote Jobs Examples
4
Marketing
Marketing Remote Jobs Examples
5
Customer Service
Customer Service Remote Jobs Examples
6
Human Resources
Human Resources Remote Jobs Examples
7
Financial
Financial Remote Jobs Examples
8
Management
Management Remote Jobs Examples
9
Education
Education Remote Jobs Examples
10
Project Management
Project Management Remote Jobs Examples
Top 10 States for Remote Jobs in 2021
Depending on a state’s employment laws, an employer’s preferences, or requirements for specific job openings, some remote jobs may be location-specific. Among all the location-specific remote jobs added to the Virtual Vocations job board in 2021, most were for the following states.
Key 2021 Location Stats
- Most remote job openings posted during 2021 were for applicants living in the Eastern Time Zone.
- The East Coast also boasted the most total remote job postings by region.
- Virginia fell out of the top 10 states for remote jobs and was replaced by Arizona.
1
California
2
Texas
3
New York
4
Florida
5
Georgia
6
Illinois
7
North Carolina
8
Massachusetts
9
Pennsylvania
10
Arizona
Top 10 Cities for Remote Work in 2021
In August 2021 we named our inaugural list of the top 10 cities for remote work. The report outlines which U.S. cities provide the best opportunities to not only work remotely but also enjoy a flexible, well-rounded personal lifestyle.
To create our “Top 10 Cities for Remote Work in 2021” list, we utilized a weighted importance scoring model format to rank locations based on nine evaluation points we determined to be factors that remote workers and remote jobseekers would find favorable to city living.
- Availability of in-state remote jobs (20%)
- Quality of high-speed internet coverage (20%)
- Total tax burden (15%)
- Real estate affordability (10%)
- Cost of living (10%)
- Best for business (10%)
- Access to green spaces (5%)
- Ability to pursue outdoor adventure (5%)
- Proximity to restaurants and bars (5%)
Top 10 Companies for Remote Jobs in 2021
The Virtual Vocations Telecommute Companies Database features remote than 19,000 researched profiles of remote-enabled companies. In total, Virtual Vocations posted remote job openings from more than 13,000 companies that value flexible, remote, and work from home jobs. Within the thousands of businesses and organizations Virtual Vocations searches or works with directly to find the most current, in-demand remote jobs, these 10 companies posting the most remote job openings in 2021. In total, Virtual Vocations posted remote job openings from more than 13,000 companies that value flexible, remote, and work from home jobs.
Key 2021 Companies Stats
- These companies are also rank highest on our Top 100 Companies to Watch for Remote Jobs in 2022 list.
- Virtual Vocations vetted and posted more than 26,000 remote jobs from these employers during 2021.
- Given the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, UnitedHealth Group and Anthem, Inc. were standout leaders for remote hiring throughout the year. With more than 9,100 remote jobs added, UnitedHealth Group job postings nearly doubled the 4,600 remote vacancies from Anthem, which, in its own right, accounted for at least 43% more job openings than any other employer in the top 10.
1
UnitedHealth Group
2
Anthem, Inc.
3
USAA (United Services Automobile Association)
4
Humana Inc.
5
Stride, Inc.
6
U.S. Bank
7
Square, Inc.
8
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.
9
Parallon
10
Facebook/Meta Platforms, Inc.
The companies profiled above are also featured in our Top 100 Companies to Watch for Remote Jobs in 2022 report. This ranked list of remote-enabled companies highlights the 100 best businesses for remote work. These are the employers from which the Virtual Vocations team sourced the most remote job openings from January 1 through December 31, 2021.
The Best Employer Partners for Remote Jobs in 2021
Virtual Vocations Employer Partners submit their virtual and remote job openings directly to the Virtual Vocations job board. Job postings from these employer submissions are published weekly to Employer Alert blog posts and emailed to Virtual Vocations users as a member benefit.
In total, 118 Employer Partners posted more than 550 remote job postings directly to the Virtual Vocations job board in 2021. The 10 Employer Partners highlighted below posted the most remote jobs for the year.
There were numerical ties for both the sixth and 10th place rankings. Select any of the hyperlinked company names to view a researched Virtual Vocations profile of that company.
1.) Achieve Test Prep (Wayne, New Jersey)
2.) Agilent Technologies (Santa Clara, California)
3.) Appfire (Burlington, Massachusetts)
4.) Working Solutions (Plano, Texas)
5.) Uscreen (Washington, D.C.)
6.) StudySmarter (Munich, Germany); Study.com (Mountain View, California)
8.) SMC National (Roseville, California)
9.) Littera Education, Inc. (Wappingers Falls, New York)
10.) Coalition Technologies (Los Angeles, California); Elevate K-12 (Chicago, Illinois); ContentBacon (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
New Employer Partners Added in 2021
New Employer Partners for 2021 represent businesses and organizations across a variety of job industries. Top Employer Partner industries include management, customer service, sales, marketing, and education. Among all U.S. locations, Delaware, California, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas were the top states for Employer Partner job postings. The companies highlighted below are the 94 new businesses that joined the Employer Partner Program during 2021.
Businesses and organizations interested in posting remote job openings directly to the Virtual Vocations job board can join the more than 3,500 employers using Virtual Vocations to find top remote talent and become Employer Partner Program members.
Q1 New Remote-Enabled Employer Partners:
New Companies Hiring Remote Workers
My Consulting Offer (Forest Park, Georgia)
Subsplash, Inc. (Seattle, Washington)
DemandZEN (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
Ulatus (New York, New York)
Accountingfly (Pensacola, Florida)
Fellow Products (San Francisco, California)
Neptune Capital Group (Castle Rock, Colorado)
Meg K and Company (Chicago, Illinois)
Point of Solutions (Sumner, Washington)
Vortala (Larkspur, Colorado)
Eleven Writing (London, England)
Salem Web Network LLC (Richmond, Virginia)
VIPdesk Connect (Alexandria, Virginia)
Worxbee (Greenville, South Carolina)
Q2 New Remote-Enabled Employer Partners:
Remote Hiring Push
Forward Air (Greenville, Tennessee)
MedAllies (Fishkill, New York)
Aira (La Jolla, California)
Crestcom International (Greenwood Village, Colorado)
Easley Appellate Practice (Miami, Florida)
Fraser (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Omni Interactions, Inc. (Denver, Colorado)
Automattic (San Francisco, California)
Elite Editing (New York, New York)
mindStart (Austin, Texas)
School Webmasters (Mesa, Arizona)
Toptal, LLC (San Francisco, California)
Webility Solutions (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada)
Amy Northard, CPA (Indianapolis, Indiana)
CoachWorld Solutions (Beavercreek, Ohio)
Sarita Turner Mental Health Virtual Assistance (New York, New York)
Advance Your Reach (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Elevate K-12 (Chicago, Illinois)
Self-Publishing School (San Francisco, California)
Talent Inc. (New York, New York)
TorkLaw (Irvine, California)
Merge IT, LLC (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Appfire (Burlington, Massachusetts)
Double (Brooklyn, New York)
Archilogic (Zürich, Switzerland)
Profound Logic Software (Dayton, Ohio)
TalentCompass (Santa Monica, California)
The Center for Professional Advancement (East Brunswick, New Jersey)
Sawyer & Latimer, P.A. (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Isaacson, Miller (Boston, Massachusetts)
Back Office Support Solutions (BOSS) (San Diego, California)
Working Solutions (Plano, Texas)
Summit CPA Group (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
Q3 New Remote-Enabled Employer Partners:
Remote Jobs on the Rise
Sofatutor (Berlin, Germany)
3Play Media, Inc. (Boston, Massachusetts)
PlaneTree Health Library (Los Gatos, California)
Woven Legal LLC (Atlanta, Georgia)
Springboard Collaborative (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Saige Partners LLC (West Liberty, Iowa)
Peachtree Versatile Assistants (Atlanta, Georgia)
Reliable PSD (Portland, Oregon)
Delta Dental (San Francisco, California)
AssistPro (Greenville, South Carolina)
Southleft, LLC (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Wonderlic (Vernon Hills, Illinois)
Zayed Law Offices (Joliet, Illinois)
Burns & Farrey (Boston, Massachusetts)
CallingWorks (Needham, Massachusetts)
ELEVATE (Bristol, England)
Scooters ‘N Chairs (Atlanta, Georgia)
OptimuMedicine, LLC (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Paychex (Rochester, New York)
Wonder Shuttle Media Inc. (Markham, Ontario, Canada)
API Heat Transfer (Buffalo, New York)
Hamiltro Website Design (New York, New York)
APS Medical Billing (Toledo, Ohio)
Content Cucumber (Bloomington, Indiana)
Equipment Radar (Miami, Florida)
Q4 New Remote-Enabled Employer Partners:
Remote Hiring Spree
A1FED, Inc. (McLean, Virginia)
Bank of George (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Qolo (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Chainlink Labs Inc. (San Francisco, California)
Ensemble Travel Group (New York, New York)
Rosenberg Accountancy LLC (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
The Legal Expert Witness Network (Pensacola, Florida)
CloudLinux Inc. (Palo Alto, California)
FitDistrict (Washington, D.C.)
Click Fluency (Gainesville, Georgia)
HopScratch Farm (Harwood, Maryland)
Internet Society (Reston, Virginia)
RemoteMore (Berlin, Germany)
JPNB Consulting (London, England)
Littera Education Inc. (Wappingers Falls, New York)
The Medical Transcription Service (Phoenix, Arizona)
4th Down Solutions (San Diego, California)
Draft.dev (Chicago, Illinois)
Quantib (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
StudySmarter (Munich, Germany)
The Tech Talent Project (Washington, D.C.)
Contact Information for the 2021 Year-End Report and Remote Jobs Statistics
Inquiries about the 2021 Year-End Report and Remote Jobs Statistics can be made to Michelle Rawlings, Public Relations Specialist. Contact Michelle at michelle (at) virtualvocations (dot) com or via phone at 1-800-379-5092 EXT. 703.
Please visit Virtual Vocations on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest for additional remote work content and conversations.
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