The Virtual Vocations 2023 year-end report names the best companies, industries, and states for fully remote jobs. It is our ninth annual analysis of remote hiring. Our report also includes access to 40 remote work resources containing survey data from more than 2,700 remote workers and jobseekers, company lists and awards for remote-enabled organizations, expert advice on remote resumes, cover letters, and job interviews, as well as virtual action plans and job search guides for successfully executing a fully remote job search.
2023 Year-End Report Summary
Throughout 2023, the Virtual Vocations team and our Employer Partners added more than 213,000 total remote job postings to our fully remote job board. Job postings originated from 10,870 unique companies. On average, we published nearly 18,000 fully remote job postings per month in 2023. Our annual analysis of the state of fully remote hiring also uncovered key trends, like those highlighted below, including the continued pursuit of experienced, educated workers for full-time telework positions.
- 80.55% of jobs were for experienced workers with professional work histories in similar roles.
- 53.90% were full-time positions.
- 47.43% required a bachelor’s degree or some college; another 15.29% required a master’s degree.
- 31.31% of roles were permanent positions.
- 26.83% of jobs were senior-level roles.
Year-over-year comparative analysis of Virtual Vocations’ annual statistical reports can be found on the following pages:
Remote Jobs Statistics – 2023 Year-End Report Findings
Which employers, career categories, and locations are best for fully remote jobs? Virtual Vocations’ internal company data produced answers to these questions and more.
Top 10 Remote-Enabled Companies for Fully Remote Jobs
The Virtual Vocations Remote Companies Database features more than 14,000 researched profiles of remote-enabled employers. These 10 companies were responsible for more than 33,000 fully remote job postings, or 15.74% of all remote jobs published to the Virtual Vocations job board in 2023.
3. Humana Inc.
7. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
10. R1 RCM Inc. & General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. (GDIT)*
*R1 RCM and GDIT tied for 10th place among the top companies ranking for 2023. The ranking is based on the total number of fully remote jobs from each company added to the Virtual Vocations database throughout the year.
Top 10 Employer Partners for Fully Remote Jobs in 2023
Members of the Virtual Vocations Employer Partner Program—managed by Employer and Business Partnerships Specialist Erin Feldman—are businesses and organizations with a shared goal to hire top-quality remote talent. To accomplish this goal, Employer Partner Program members post fully remote job openings directly to the Virtual Vocations remote job board. Prior to joining the program, each company undergoes a vetting process to ensure its business and job postings meet Virtual Vocations’ strict quality standards.
Throughout the year, 68 Employer Partners shared approximately 600 fully remote job postings to the Virtual Vocations job board. Our 3,600 existing Employer Partners were joined by 23 new businesses that were vetted and awarded memberships in 2023. These 10 Employer Partners hired for the most fully remote jobs over the past 12 months.
1. BairesDev
3. eXp Realty
7. Uscreen
10. Study.com
Top 10 Industries for Fully Remote Jobs in 2023
Virtual Vocations’ job board includes fully remote job postings from more than 40 remote work industries. The top 10 industries for remote jobs in 2023 have been ranked based on the total number of fully remote job postings available in those career categories throughout the year.
For the 8th consecutive year, information technology reigned as the top remote work industry. In fact, fully remote IT jobs accounted for at least 2.64 times as many job postings from the Virtual Vocations database as job postings from any other remote work industry. Among the top 10 industries for fully remote jobs, which are named below, human services (+87.82%), education (+31.60%), and healthcare, (+24.23%) experienced the most growth in the percentage of fully remote jobs available from 2022 to 2023.
2. Healthcare
3. Marketing
4. Sales
5. Financial
6. Management
Top 10 States for Fully Remote Jobs in 2023
The vast majority of fully remote jobs are available to U.S. workers nationwide. In 2023, 87.39% of the remote job postings Virtual Vocations published were available nationally. This is a 5.29% increase in the percentage of nationwide fully remote jobs compared to 2022. Alternately, some fully remote jobs still require candidates to reside within a particular state. Throughout 2023, more than 77,000 remote job postings with state-specific location requirements were available to remote jobseekers in these top 10 locations.
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Georgia
5. Virginia
6. Arizona
7. Pennsylvania
8. Tennessee
*Illinois and Michigan tied for 9th place among the top states for fully remote jobs in 2023. States were ranked based on the total number of fully remote job postings shared for those locations. During the year, 7,199 remote job postings were available for jobseekers in both Illinois and Michigan.
Further Remote Work Reading from Virtual Vocations
Virtual Vocations releases multiple annual reports on the state of remote work in the U.S. These publications include jobseeker surveys, statistical analyses, and company rankings. Select any of the titles below to read the report.
Surveys of More Than 2,700 Remote Workers and Jobseekers
- “Dream Job Search Survey: 798 Workers’ Opinions on Looking for Employment in 2023“
- “Career Change Survey: 857 Workers Polled on What Would Make Their Work Lives Great“
- “Remote Work Productivity Survey: 596 Workers’ Perspectives on Time Management, Collaboration, and More“
- “From Search to Success Survey Results: 533 Workers Polled on Job Search Progress“
Company Lists and Awards
- “Top 100 Companies to Watch for Fully Remote Jobs in 2024“
- “Top 25 Employer Partners for Fully Remote Jobs in 2023“
- “Hiring for Fully Remote Jobs—25 Fortune 500 Companies to Watch in 2023“
- “12 Highest-Paying Fully Remote Jobs of 2023“
- “100 Remote Jobs With Benefits From 20 Highly Rated Companies“
- “Fully Remote Work Industries: Top 20 for 2023“
- “12 Socially Responsible For-Profit Companies That Hire Remote Workers“
Expert Advice on Telework Resumes and Cover Letters
- “How to Shorten Your Resume & Make a Powerful First Impression“
- “10 Master Resume Tips to Help You Save Time on Job Applications“
- “How to Use Work from Home Keywords on Your Remote Resume“
- “Crafting the Perfect First Impression: Winning Resume Headline Examples“
- “How to Add Your Resume to LinkedIn & Leverage Your Career Prospects“
- “6 Resume Tips That Will Help You Land a New Remote Job“
- “6 Ways Resume AI Can Help You Transform Your Job Application Process“
- “Unsolicited Resumes: How & When To Use Them“
- “10 Easy Cover Letter Tweaks to Get You Noticed by Employers“
- “6 Questions to Answer in a Cover Letter“
Success Tips for Virtual Job Interviews
- “10 Winning Strategies for Recognizing & Answering Illegal Interview Questions“
- “The Top 35 Behavioral Interview Questions & Why You Want To Prepare For Them“
- “4 Important Interview Questions You Should Ask Employers“
- “5 Stalling Tactics for Tough Interview Questions“
- “How to Survive the Hot Seat & Master a Panel Interview“
- “12 Common Second Interview Questions and Brilliant Ways to Answer Them“
Remote Work Action Plans and Job Search Guides
- “5 Ways You Can Volunteer Your Way to a New Remote Career“
- “How to Get a Job Without References“
- “How to Know If a Job Is the Right Fit: 6 Questions to Ask Yourself“
- “7 Tips for Crafting Clear & Achievable Job Search Goals for Career Success“
- “The Essential Freelancers Guide: 5 Must-Have Skills & Tools“
- “The Remote Worker’s Relocation Handbook: Tips for a Smooth Move“
- “Your Action Plan for Successfully Working From Home with a Sick Child“
- “Broadband for Remote Work: Finding the Most Reliable Connection for Telecommuting“
- “How to Create a Daily Job Search Routine for Remote Work Opportunities“
- “Your Complete Guide to Remote Work Taxes“
- “The Ultimate Guide for Making a Career Pivot“
- “What to Do on LinkedIn When You’re Unemployed“
- “The Best Certifications for Remote Jobs: Your Guide to Popular Industries“
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 approximately 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, career webinars, and downloadable worksheets. Furthermore, the Career Services Division provides job coaching and interview preparation services, LinkedIn profile enhancement, resume assessments, and resume and cover letter writing. Virtual Vocations also releases multiple data-driven reports each year on current trends in telecommuting, company lists, quarterly statistical analyses of remote hiring, and telework survey results.
Send questions about Virtual Vocations’ “2023 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.
Image credits: Canva; Virtual Vocations images prepared by Kimberly Back
