Since COVID, one in five Connecticut residents have been working from home, according to a new survey from the US Census Bureau.
The latest American Community Survey, based on census data between 2019 and 2021, shows the number of people working from home in Connecticut has nearly tripled.
Before the pandemic, one in 18 Connecticutans was used to working remotely; that’s a 248% increase over two years.
“What was really interesting is that we expected this increase in 2020, but it persisted in 2021,” said Michelle Riordan-North, executive director of the Connecticut Data Collaborative, which analyzes census data.
Connecticut Data Collaboration
Before the pandemic, 5.6% of Connecticut’s workforce worked from home — that figure rose to 19.5% in 2021. Connecticut has more people working from home than the national average of 17.9 %.
Riordan-Nord said the state also saw a 2.5% drop in the number of people working in its service industries — like restaurants, which have been closed for long periods due to the pandemic.
“What happened was there was a right shift, as service workers were out of work for a year or more, they moved their occupation to other industries that were hiring” , said Riordan-Nord. “And so what we’re seeing now is a struggle to get people back into those industries because they’re displaced and working elsewhere.”
Riordan-Nord said there has also been a shift towards more women now working from home than men. This was not the case before the pandemic and it could be due to a lack of childcare available.
