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U.S. Census Bureau : Those who worked remotely have higher income, education and better health

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the staff of the Ridgewood bl0g

Ridgewood NJ, according to the U.S. Census Bureau more than a third of U.S. households reported working from home more frequently than before the pandemic, but the percentage who made the switch varied widely across sociodemographic groups.

Households with members who teleworked (remote work)  more frequently reported higher levels of income and education and better health than those in which no one changed their typical in-person work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since August 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau has asked participants in the Household Pulse Survey: “Working from home is sometimes referred to as telework. Did any adults in this household substitute some or all of their typical in-person work for telework because of the coronavirus pandemic, including yourself?”

While the survey suggested the highest-earning households — those with annual incomes of $200,000 or more — 73.1% switched to telework (Figure 1). This is more than double the percentage (32.1%) of households with incomes between $50,000 and $74,999, a range that includes the 2019 median U.S. household income ($65,712).

Lowest-earning households were less likely to switch to telework. Only 12.7% of households earning under $25,000 reported teleworking in lieu of in-person work.

An interesting note was how health status related to teleworking patterns. When asked to rate their health (as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor), those who reported excellent health were more than twice as likely as those who reported poor health to have had an adult in their household substitute in-person work for telework (47.6% versus 20.1%, respectively).

Among those in poor health, 4 in 5 (79.9%) reported that no one in their household switched to telework or changed their telework habits, compared to just over half (52.4%) of those in excellent health.

The surveys promoted conclusion was those who switched to telework (remote work)  have higher income, education and better health.

While all this seems obvious when it comes to corporate America , in-person jobs are often are often lower paying or starter jobs , like retail or hospitality .  The survey equated educational attainment with telework (remote work) employees and seemed to ignore high skill trades , like plumbers and electricians , certain types of construction skills, and small business owners . It also seemed to ignore certain professions such as engineering  , medical doctors ,scientific lab work  and other activities that highly educated people have to do in person or mostly in person.

 

 

 

 

 

One thought on “U.S. Census Bureau : Those who worked remotely have higher income, education and better health

  1. Kinda difficult to ‘supersize french fries’ remotely, although sooner than later it will be possible. Just as ordering kiosks displaced workers looking for $15 per hour, this could be next… via telephone from India or the phillipines where they make 15 per day, not per hour.

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