After more than two years into the pandemic, companies of all sizes in Philadelphia have asked employees to return to the office. However, some of them have maintained hybrid or remote work policies. According to a report by The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, nearly 24% of the workforce in Philadelphia in 2021 was made up of remote workers.
While remote work is still under debate in many companies, compared to pre-pandemic times, most states and countries have significantly increased their flexible approaches.
Philadelphia and Remote Work
In 2019, only 5% of the workforce in Philadelphia was made of remote workers. Last year, that number jumped to 23.8%
During these years, more women than men have shifted to remote work. According to the report, in 2019, 5.3% of women worked remotely, while 24% did in 2021. For men, 4.2% worked remotely in 2019, and 21.1% did last year.
Among the reasons for this percentage difference, Michael Shields, Economy League Research Director, mentioned that it might be because women often do the unpaid labor of childcare and housekeeping. So, they are more likely to look for jobs that allow them to manage all their responsibilities.
The report also highlighted that people who made more than $65,000 per year were the ones who were more likely to work remotely. Office-based jobs shifted more to remote work than blue-collar jobs, and white professionals shifted more to remote jobs than people of color.
