The Virtual Vocations 2022 year-end report is our eighth annual statistical analysis of the top companies, industries, and states for remote hiring. This report also includes an examination of the state of remote work as well as worker opinions—documented in Virtual Vocations surveys—on their professional pain points, motivations, ideal work-at-home days, and reasons why 100% remote work will be the most popular work arrangement in 2023.
2022 Year-End Report Summary
During 2022, the Virtual Vocations team and our Employer Partners added 250,000 total remote job postings from 12,000 unique companies to the Virtual Vocations fully remote job board. Throughout the year, we published an average of more than 20,000 fully remote job postings per month. A closer look at our internal job posting data showed key trends in fully remote hiring, including the consistent supply and demand for 100% virtual jobs. We also learned that the majority of remote-enabled companies want to hire experienced and educated workers for full-time positions that can be performed from home.
- 95.65% of total remote job postings added to the Virtual Vocations database were for 100% remote jobs with no business travel.
- 83.65% were for experienced workers with at least some professional history working in a similar role.
- 55.96% were full-time jobs.
- 55.64% required a bachelor’s degree or some level of college study.
For comparative analysis year-over-year, previous Virtual Vocations year-end and telecommuting statistical reports can be found on the following pages:
CEO’s Statement on the 2022 Year-End Report
“Following 15 years of vetting and publishing both fully and partially remote jobs, Virtual Vocations became a fully remote job board on February 1, 2022. Our decision to transition to a 100% virtual database was made based on both jobseeker demand and feedback from our members. We knew excluding remote job openings with field travel from our job board would decrease our annual total of remote job postings. However, we also knew our commitment to providing only fully remote job postings would increase the quality of our services and resources for our members.
After years of economic, social, and health uncertainties, workers are more driven than ever to seek higher degrees of balance within their professional and personal lives. In 2022, workers rejected hustle culture—replacing it with a move toward the flexibility of fully virtual employment and greater control over how, when, and where they work. Flexible, fully remote employment ensures workers are able to cultivate lives that enrich them on all levels. Employees want to be viewed and respected as whole individuals who are not merely cogs in a corporate wheel. Completely virtual job options give workers the decision-making power over their futures and allow space for them to find meaningful and rewarding work that pays the bills and reflects their values.”
What Workers Want (and Do Not Want) in Their Jobs
While medical experts, government officials, business owners, and online crusaders spent the last few years debating the COVID-19 pandemic’s realities and ramifications, workers reevaluated their priorities. In 2021, 34 million Americans quit their jobs. With two-thirds of employees reporting they have experienced job burnout, diminished professional engagement, and overly demanding employers, it is no wonder why.
Then came 2022: the year of employer mandates to “Return to the office!” But after months, or even years, spent working remotely due to COVID-19, employees were not ready to cash in the comfort of home for another cramped stint in a cubicle. Access to remote jobs became the top workplace concern for employees and flexibility became the number one career motivator—even more desired than better compensation, advancement opportunities, and workplace recognition.
Modern professionals view fully remote jobs as solutions to many of the employee pain points they experience. In fact, 62% of workers want to work from home 100% of the time without traveling for business or spending part of their week at an onsite location. Ideally, the majority of workers (64%) dream of spending their work time in a dedicated home office, but not on the typical 9-to-5 schedule. Forty-five percent (45%) prefer a four-day work week and feel they can be just as productive working 32 hours per week compared to the traditional 40-hour work week. In addition to feeling more productive while working from home, workers also want fully remote jobs to save more time and money by not commuting to work. Moreover, 51% of employees also report that working from their home environment is better for their personal health and well-being.
Remote Jobs Statistics – 2022 Year-End Report Findings
What are the best businesses, career categories, and locations for remote jobs? Our internal company data produced answers to these questions and more. Twelve months, 250,000 remote jobs, and 12,000 companies later, we are ready to name 2022’s 10 best remote-enabled companies, Employer Partners, industries, and states for remote work.
Top 10 Remote-Enabled Companies for Fully Remote Jobs
The Virtual Vocations Remote Companies Database features 14,000 researched profiles of remote-enabled businesses and organizations. Among the 12,000 unique employers, whose fully remote jobs were added to our job board in 2022, the 10 companies named below are best for remote hiring. These 10 employers were responsible for more than 29,000 fully remote job postings, or 12% of all remote jobs published to the Virtual Vocations job board in 2022.
3. Amazon
4. Humana Inc.
6. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
7. Google
8. U.S. Bank
10. Edward Jones
Top 10 Employer Partners for Fully Remote Jobs in 2022
Virtual Vocations Employer Partners are vetted remote-enabled businesses that reach out to us directly to post fully remote job openings. In 2022, 42 new Employer Partners, including Susan G. Komen and Intuit Inc., joined our program of more than 3,600 members.
Erin Feldman, Employer & Business Partnerships Specialist
2. BairesDev
4. Study.com
7. Boldly
8. StudySmarter
9. Virbela
Top 10 Industries for Fully Remote Jobs in 2022
More than 40 remote work industries are represented in the Virtual Vocations job board. Remote job industries range from expected, computer-based fields, such as information technology, internet and e-commerce, and transcription, to more surprising areas, like real estate, fundraising, and investigations. The top 10 industries for remote jobs in 2022, which are named below, have been ranked based on the total number of fully remote job postings available in those career categories throughout the year.
Fully remote information technology (IT) jobs were four times as prevalent as fully remote jobs in any other industry. Careers in IT (15%), healthcare (13%), marketing (10%), and management (8%) are among the fastest growing occupations, according to job outlooks from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. IT, along with human resources and project management, occupations are also high-earning careers. Median industry salaries for these fields range from $94,000 to just over $97,000 per year. However, the highest median industry salaries are found in product management and management. Remote professionals in either of these occupations could gross more than $100,000 annually.
2. Healthcare
3. Marketing
4. Sales
5. Financial
6. Management
Top 10 States for Fully Remote Jobs in 2022
Although more than 82% of the remote job postings Virtual Vocations published in 2022 were nationwide positions open to U.S. applicants, some remote jobs require candidates to reside within a particular state. Circumstances necessitating state-specific residency could include employer preference or employment laws relevant to the state where the hiring company is headquartered. Throughout 2022, more than 160,000 remote job postings with state-specific location requirements were available to remote jobseekers in these top 10 locations for fully remote jobs.
1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Georgia
5. California
6. Virginia
7. Arizona
8. New York
9. Pennsylvania
10. Ohio
Further Reading and Virtual Vocations Remote Resources
Each year, Virtual Vocations releases multiple remote work reports on the state of remote work in the U.S. These reports include jobseeker surveys, statistical analyses, and company rankings. Select any of the titles below to read the report.
Surveys and Remote Work Statistics
Company Lists and Awards
- “Top 100 Companies to Watch for Fully Remote Jobs in 2023“
- “Top 25 Employer Partners for Remote Work in 2022“
- “50 Remote Enabled Company Culture Leaders“
- “Remote Enabled Fortune 500 Companies—The Top 25 for 2022“
- “25 Best Remote Companies for Women“
- “43 Remote Enabled Best Places to Work for 2022“
- “15 Best International Companies Hiring U.S. Remote Workers“
- “High Paying Remote Companies: 15 Best Salaries for 2022“
Actionable Plans and Job Search Tips for Remote Jobseekers
About Virtual Vocations
Virtual Vocations, Inc., founded in 2007, is a private, family-owned, and 100% distributed company. Co-founded by CEO Laura Spawn and her brother, CTO Adam Stevenson, Virtual Vocations connects jobseekers with legitimate, fully remote job openings. All job postings are screened to ensure the highest quality standards. To date, Virtual Vocations has helped more than four million jobseekers find flexible remote work options.
In addition to managing and curating a database that, at any given time, houses more than 15,000 current, hand-screened remote job openings, Virtual Vocations offers jobseekers a number of tools to aid in their job searches. These tools include exclusive, self-paced career courses, digital guides for popular virtual job industries, and downloadable worksheets. The Career Services Division also provides job coaching and interview prep, LinkedIn profile enhancement, and resume and cover letter writing. Virtual Vocations also releases multiple data-driven reports each year on current trends in remote work.
Send questions about Virtual Vocations’ “2022 Year-End Report and Remote Jobs Statistics” report to Kimberly Back. Kim is the Senior Job Data Content Producer and can be emailed at kim (at) virtualvocations (dot) com. Please visit Virtual Vocations’ social media profiles to connect. Visit Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest for more remote work content and conversations.
Additional Image credits: Canva; Virtual Vocations images prepared by Kimberly Back
