Washington is the fourth-best state in the U.S. for remote job seekers, according to a new study released Monday.
The state has the third-highest number of remote jobs, with 65.38 per 1,000 residents — and that number is expected to spike 25.8% by 2028, the fourth-highest growth rate in the country, according to the study, which was conducted by CareerCloud, a career resource and advice site. The study also included Washington, D.C.
Nationally, remote jobs are expected to grow 16% by 2028. By contrast, the growth rate for all U.S. jobs is projected to be a mere 4%.
The study relied on the Bureau of Labor and Statistics and Census Bureau data showing the current number of remote jobs as well as projected growth rates for those jobs through 2028. The study also examined broadband access in each state.
Washington and Colorado were the only two states to rank in the top 10 for all of those metrics.
Washington ranked first in the country for home broadband access. More than 91% of the state has access to broadband, according to the study, compared with 86.4% of Americans overall.
Ahead of Washington in the rankings were Utah, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Virginia rounded out the top five.
The worst? All relatively rural states: Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, Maine, and Wyoming.
One factor holding back the growth of remote jobs is that the most common U.S. job is retail salesperson, followed by fast food and counter workers and cashiers. Those jobs are virtually impossible to do remotely.
Places, where remote work is most on the rise, are home to a higher number of jobs that can be done outside the workplace. For example, the most common type of remote job in Washington is, unsurprisingly, software developer.
Remote work was already on the rise when the pandemic struck almost exactly a year ago. In the U.S., remote jobs grew by 30% over the past decade.
CareerCloud’s report notes that some saw the increase in
remote jobs as a tech industry and millennial fad, but the pandemic made the
new working model a reality even for the most ardent of skeptics.
