The number of Americans primarily working from home more than tripled in the first two years of the pandemic to about 27.6 million, according to the US Census Bureau.
Areas around Washington, D.C., lead the nation in the share of remote work last year, according to a survey released Thursday. Nearly half of workers the country’s capital worked from home -- the highest percentage of home-based workers among states -- and about one-quarter of them did in nearby Maryland.
Although companies including banks have been urging workers to start returning to the office this month, work-from-home and hybrid policies have become a long-lasting feature of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are some additional takeaways from the Census report:
• Nearly 15 million fewer people were commuting alone by car in 2021 compared with 2019.
• The share of public-transportation commuting fell by about half, to 2.5% in 2021 from 5% two years earlier.
• The percentage of workers who worked within their county of residence increased to 76.5% in 2021 from 72.2% in 2019 as fewer people cross county borders to get to work -- creating tax complications.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.