Searches for remote jobs up 300% compared to last year, research finds

When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit in spring of 2020, many people bemoaned having to spend two weeks working from home. Then two weeks turned into two months, and now, for many people, two years – and now, workers are no longer quite as skeptical about at-home employment. In fact, according to new research by Semrush, a keyword research platform, demand for remote jobs just keeps rising. The research, which was based on data from search engine traffic, finds that searches for remote jobs are up 300%, year over year. That includes searches for specific types of remote work jobs, including searches for part-time remote jobs and entry-level remote jobs.

So are employers responding to the clear demand? Not quite. Only 6.8% of all jobs on job searching websites are remote jobs, according to Semrush’s study, meaning more people are looking for remote jobs than there are remote jobs available. The study notes that employers – many of whom are struggling with hiring due to the ongoing impacts of the Great Resignation and subsequent labor shortage – might be able to attract more qualified candidates by offering remote or flexible work options.

Another factor that may be influencing candidates’ interest is the size of the company. According to Semrush’s data, major tech companies – including Meta and Amazon – are seeing growing traffic to their job postings pages. Amazon, for instance, gets around 7 million monthly pageviews on average.

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Still, not everyone is looking for remote work. The most Googled jobs across the country remain in-person roles, with the top three being flight attendants, medical assistants, and security. Other jobs that are seeing high demand – including large year-over-year increases in searches – include data analysts, project managers, and proofreaders. Jobs that are less Googled include pharmacy technicians, administrative assistants, nannies, firefighters, and tutors, according to the research.