United States: Lack of Remote Work Options Elevates COVID-19 Risk Profiles

(16 November 2020) Changing jobs can be a challenge in normal times and even more challenging during COVID-19, which means that labor markets are not as fluid as we might wish. Personal choices aside, thousands of workers have potentially elevated risks of contracting COVID-19 since they do not have the luxury to choose to work from home, particularly in industries with lower wages and formal educational requirements. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• 70%+ of employees in the financial and professional and business services industries reported that they could telework. The average salary in these industries exceeded $110,000 per year in 2019.
  
• 36% of employees in manufacturing and 27% of wholesale and retail trade workers could work from home. The average annual wage in these two industries was $70,000 and $40,000, respectively.
• 10.7% of workers with less than a high school diploma can work from home, a large difference from the 67.5% with a bachelor's degree and higher who reported that they had the option to work from home.