Oregon Has Second Highest Number Of Remote Workers In US

Federal data indicates that after the pandemic, thousands of Oregon workers returned to their offices last year. However, the number of people working remotely for at least part of the time last year was twice as high as before the pandemic.

Oregonians Working From Home

Representing almost 18% of workers in Oregon, over 360,000 Oregonians were working from home in 2023 according to newly released data by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Only Colorado has a higher share of remote workers where almost 20% of people work from home. Louisiana (8.1%) and Mississippi (6.4%) had the lowest numbers.

In Oregon, self-employed people working out their bedrooms and basements was prevalent long before the pandemic. Technology and creative fields have also historically embraced remote work.

Compared to states with high numbers of blue-collar workers, farmers, and service-industry jobs, Oregon’s industry makes remote working easier.  Remote work in the Southeast, the Dakotas, Alaska, and Hawaii remains rare as the jobs cannot be done remotely.

The survey asked if people had worked from home in the week prior to the nationwide survey and about 14% of American workers said they are doing their jobs remotely.

As offices closed to stop the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, remote work spiked during the pandemic and employees found they enjoyed the flexibility of working from home and avoiding the daily commute.

There was a gradual return that started in 2021 and many large Oregon employers like Nike, Intel,   and the city of Portland have encouraged or insisted that their workers spend more time in the office. This week, Portland General Electric also advised employees they must be in the office at least three days a week.

Remote Work Affects Other Sectors

In 2023, remote work declined by 6.6% with almost 26,000 fewer Oregonians working remotely than the year before. While remote work is here to stay for a significant share of the workforce, some businesses like it too because they can save on real estate costs and hire from a larger pool of potential workers.

Some companies have reduced or eliminated their offices instead, posing an ongoing challenge, including downtown Portland where about half as many people go into office as before the pandemic. The data firm, Placer.ai indicated that office vacancy rates downtown have more than doubled.

Local merchants have also suffered from the absence of foot traffic.

City officials said the decline has contributed to a rise in the number of homeless campsites and a spike in crime. Although criminal activity has declined over the past year, negative perceptions of downtown remain.